1883 - August 3

August 3, 1883 was the date chosen for the first annual Trades and Labor picnic. The locale chosen for the event the grounds was in the west end of the city, the Crystal Palace grounds.

An energetic committee had worked long and hard to finalize all the necessary arrangement to make the picnic a great attraction:

“The sports consist of a baseball match between the Primroses and the Baysides for the championship and $50; horse races, bicycle races, a lacrosse match and other games.

“A large attendance is hoped for, and if the weather turns out fine, it should be a great success.”¹

¹ “A Grand Affair : Hamilton Trades and Labor Demonstration on August 3, 1883.
          Hamilton Spectator.   July 31, 1883.

The demonstration committee had called for a “mass meeting” to be held at Larkin Hall on July 30, 1883.

As the well-attended meeting began, Fred. Jones, was chosen chairman and he started proceedings by noting that the object of the meeting was “to give an invitation to all laborers and unorganized branches of labor to join in the demonstration on Friday.”²

² “Labor Demonstration : Mass Meeting of Workmen at Larkin Hall.”

Hamilton Spectator.    July 31, 1883

The first speaker, Robert Coulter, said that the idea for a demonstration was set in motion by a certain group of organized laborers, but that it was hoped that all classes of labor would cooperate to make the day a success.

The Next speaker was Mr. F. Allen :

“He thought that the workmen had too many holidays sometimes, but just when they didn’t want them; for instance, there would be a cornerstone laying, or a Jumbo circus, and then the workingman must take a holiday so the capitalists could have a good time. Now the workingmen were going to take it in a more gentlemanly manner than the capitalist took theirs – they had first given due notice. He was glad that the committee had decided to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors on the grounds during the demonstration. The workingmen would show the citizens that they could have pleasure without having any liquor.”²

“Union is strength. This old adage was never more forcibly illustrated in Hamilton than yesterday afternoon, when the monster procession of the city’s artisans filed its way through the street. There has never before been an organized turnout en masse of the workingmen of Hamilton, and the present occasion will therefore long be recollected, marking as it does a memorable epoch in the history of trade unionism.”³

³ “Grand Labor Parade : Splendid Demonstration by Hamilton Workingmen.”

Hamilton Spectator.   August 4, 1883.

The date, August 3, 1883 had been chosen for the mass Hamilton Labor Demonstration because it was the birthday of Uriah Stephens, founder of the Knights of Labor.

A committee of the local chapter of the Knights of Labor had succeeded in uniting most, if not all, of the organized bodies of workingmen in the city with a large number of the city’s unorganized workers.

Over 2,000 people turned up for the start of the procession which had been scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. As so many people had come to take part in the procession, the parade marshals had some difficulty creating an organized line of march:

“The work of organizing a procession of 2,000 people and having it move in a particular order, and at a given moment is an achievement that has not yet been realize by any demonstration committee. Dealing with a score of bodies organized after different forms and having a varying system of official regulations, seeking to combine, in a harmonious whole, men who believe in organization, men who are indifferent to it and men who oppose it, was an undertaking that only a few of the most sanguine men would care to face.”⁴

⁴ “Labor’s Holiday : Grand Demonstration of the Hamilton Trades and Labor Societies.”

Palladium of Labor.   August 11, 1883.

The Palladium of Labor, the newspaper organ of the Knights of Labor, claimed that, despite the chaotic conditions at first, the procession started off only fifteen minutes after the time appointed.

The Hamilton Spectator had a different take on the matter:

“The start was announced for one o’clock, but it was about an hour later before order was evolved out of chaos, and the line of march taken up. To make matters all the worse, clouds gathered, and after lowering ominously for a while, began to discharge their moisture.

“There appeared to be some hitch in the arrangements and the marshals galloped to and fro in a state of great perplexity. People hardly knew the procession had started until it was fairly underway, the intention to follow out the program having to be abandoned.”³

An accurate count of the processionists was not made, but the procession took a full twenty-five minutes to pass a given point and when the head of the parade reached the entrance to the Crystal Palace grounds, the end of the parade was just starting out from the John and King street area at Gore park.

The parade was watched by large numbers of citizens all along the route:

“A dense crowd thronged the streets, numbers perched on verandahs and other available projections over looking the street, and every window along the line of march seemed to have a full complement of heads.”⁴

The Independent Band, numbering thirty-five players, led by Prof. Cotter, headed the parade and played a number of inspiring airs throughout the route of the parade. Brethren of the Knights of Labor locally, and from the nearby communities outside of the city, were given places of honor near the head of the procession, following the Independent Band. The largest out-of-city contingent was the 84 members of the Pioneer Assembly of the Brantford Knights of Labor. Following the Brantford visitors was what described in the Spectator as “a band of musicians in feathers and paint, all Tuscarora Indians, calling themselves the Grand River Band.”³

A notable float in the parade was that of the Longshoreman’s association – a ship on wheels, bunting flying and on her decks, shovels and tubs typical of the longshoreman’s work.

Large contingents from the Amalgamated Carpenters’ and Joiners’ association and the Cigarmakers’ union marched with the banners of the organizations. The firemen, under Chief Aitchison’s direction, also turned out in large numbers, accompanied by several pieces of fire-fighting apparatus. The members of the Typographical Union, No. 129, of Hamilton, marched, 75 in number, each carrying a Japanese parachute or carousel.

Unions and craft associations of all kinds were represented in the procession. Even some of the women laborers of the city took part:

“As if to prove that trades’ unionism is not confined to the sterner sex, some 68 young ladies took part in the demonstration; the committee, with true gallantry, placing hacks at their disposal. They are chiefly shoe operatives.”³

After the lady representatives of Hamilton’s work force came a few wagons decorated for the occasion:

“Gurney & Ware, the well-known firm of scale-makers, turned out, with their workmen, a decorated wagon with a handsome pair of platform scales and other of their wares. The Brickmakers had a wagon indicative of their trade, drawn by a four-in-hand.

“Hamilton, the hub of Canadian industries, is the only place in Canada that supports a workingman’s paper, and the PALLADIUM OF LABOR was the only journal in the city with sufficient interest in the printers’ art and the cause of labor to place a wagon in the procession. The wagon bore devices indicative of the press as the defense of labor and the medium of intellectual elevation of the masses, and distributed from the press a printed sheet with the motto of the journal, ‘The elevation of Labor is the advancement of the State.’ ”⁴

The procession ended up on the Crystal Palace grounds where it broke up, everyone proceeding to take in the events planned at that location.

Over 12,000 people entered the grounds for the afternoon and evening activities, which included a baseball match won by the Baysides over the Primroses:

“The batting throughout was pretty heavy, the fielding good, and the general style of play sharp and decisive. The boys felt happy over their victory and turned handsprings, threw up their hats and hurrahed in elegant shape.”

 There was a tug-of-war which pitted a team led by Fire Chief Aitchison against a team led by carter Tom Brick. The chief’s team won the first tug, but Tom Brick and his cohorts won the next two tugs, taking the $5 prize.

The lacrosse match was unfortunately hindered by the large crowd of spectators who swarmed all over the playing field:

“After a desperate effort to clear a space, which proved unavailing, the redskins plunged into the crowd with ball and sticks and a sort of stampede of the people from one position to the other was kept up while the game lasted. Innocent onlookers were unexpectedly knocked off their pins  or found their legs tangled in a lacrosse stick. The ball now and then struck a hard felt hat with a resounding thus, but for all this, the ground was not cleared and how the game was going, nobody could tell.”⁴

Throughout the afternoon and evening, scores of young people danced on an open platform to the music of the Meakins’ string band.

In the evening, another procession was formed around Gore Park for the march west to the Crystal Palace grounds:

“Every man in the procession carried a Chinese lantern on the end of a stick. The effect was beautiful. Loud expressions of admiration were heard on all sides as the procession wound its glittering way along. The crowd that lined the sidewalks and pressed around the procession was immense. A vast mob followed the band.”³

By 8:30 p.m., the procession had completed its trek. On an improvised platform, preparations for the evening’s meeting had begun:

“The platform was all lit up by Chinese lanterns, as was the interior of the building, in which was a great gathering of people of both sexes and all sizes, promenading or indulging in the pleasures of the mazy.”³

The finale of the day was a meeting which began with the singing of various labor songs by invited soloists, including Mr. Smithers Swanton, singing ‘The Hard Workingman’ and Mr. R. Coleman singing ‘The Nobleman and the Laborer.’

The meeting, indeed that day’s activities ended with a two-hour speech on labor by Mr. David Healey.

 

 

 

1883 - July 28

“The old Hamilton Hospital, now the House of Refuge stands at the foot of John street, fronting Myles’ Wharf. The situation is a pleasant one. The large red brick building stands high up in the air, and the fresh breeze that blows pure and sweet off the bay sweeps through it”

Hamilton Spectator.   July 28, 1883.

The reporter for the Hamilton Spectator followed up his visit to the Aged Women’s home with a visit to the House of Refuge, following up on an invitation by Superintendent William Gilles.

While being shown through the institution, the reporter had the opportunity of chatting with several of the inmates :

“George Roots, one of the oldest patients there is an old Hamiltonian and his memory goes back many years. He is afflicted with weak ankles and cannot walk, though otherwise he is hale and hearty. He recalls easily the time when Hamilton was nothing but a forest almost; when there was only one brick house here; and when the ox was roasted whole, in a cellar in the place where the Royal Hotel now stands.

“ ‘That was a jolly time, sur,’ said the old man. ‘It wur the time Sir Allan MacNab wur here, and wine and beer flowed as free as water, an’ anyone wot wanted a slice of ox cud go right up an’ cut it off.’

“ ‘Where was that sinle brick house?’

“ ‘That, sur, wur Dr. O’Reilly’s, and wur right by the corner of King and Mary. Yes, Hamilton wuz a queer place in them days, and many’s a strange thing I’ve seen. Why, I could fill up a whole book about Hamilton in them old days. There’s Ferguson avenoo, that’s named after old Ferguson, who used to have a farm wot run right back to Wentworth street from where the avenoo is. Yes, sur, that wur a big farm; and Ferguson wur a nice man. How do I like the place? Well, sur, well, Mr. Gillies wur a nice man. How do I like the place? Well, sur, well, Mr. Gillies here is a nice man, and the missus is a fine woman.’ ”¹

¹ “The House of Refuge : A Walk Through the Home of the Aged and Infirm.”

Hamilton Spectator.   July 28, 1883.

As Superintendent Gillies and the man from the Spectator toured the building, they met many of the institution’s 42 patients. The building, built in 1852 as the city hospital, had served as the House of Refuge, since the previous October 25^th.

The superintendent told the reporter that most of the patients  were cheerful and happy, but occasionally the ladies are jealous of one another:

“ ‘Jealous ! What of ? Of you?’

“ ‘Oh! dear me no ! Poor old bodies ! If one of them gets sick and the doctor gives her medicine, the others all think the doctor ought to give them medicine too, and they get quite jealous of the sick one. It is in that way, I mean,’ and Mr. Gillies laughed.”¹

The man from the Spectator ended his report on the House of Refuge as follows :

“The old people there with the bleared eyes, wrinkled sunken faces, and toothless jaws wag feebly when they talk, could tell some strange tales if they would. They could tell of venturesome journeys through life, of buried hopes and loves. And now that life is in its wintertime with them, they sit there and think of the past. Yet they go on quietly to the end – to the 31^st of some December, when it will all be over and they will go into eternity.”¹

House of Refuge

Image courtesy Local History and Archives, Hamilton Public Library

 

 

 

 

1883 - July 27

"There is certainly no class of people more deserving of a place of refuge – a place where they can rest in peace and feel assured that they have a home and will always receive every attention – than the aged, indigent woman. And the people of this city with their usual generosity have placed them in possession of a very model home”

Hamilton Spectator.   July 27, 1883.

On entering the gate of the Aged Women’s home on Wellington Street South, visitors are presented with a two storey building, surrounded with beautiful grounds:

“There is a fine orchard, and although the crop is not extensive this year, there is enough fruit hanging from the boughs to make the small boy peer wistfully through the cracks in the high board fence. The lawns are green and on a seat in the shade is an old lady quietly reading a paper. As the Spectator advances, she lays down the paper and willingly enters into conversation. She is over 80 years of age, and has been in the home since its opening in 1877. Beside her sits another old lady rapidly running her fingers over the pages of a peculiarly-looking blank book, and at the request of the matron she begins to read, for she is blind and is reading by raised letters – peculiar letters, all seeming to be put sideways, and not in the same shape as ordinary letters. She reads a few lines and the reporter recognizes the Vicar of Wakefield.”¹

¹ “Aged Women’s Home : How the City Supports Its Indigent Females.”

Hamilton Spectator.   July 27, 1883.

Inside the Aged Women’s home, the reporter met an elderly lady of 84 years of age, who had entered her second childhood. She asked repeatedly if her mother and father had been in to see her. In all, twenty women in the home were over 80. For every woman taken into the home, the board of directors would receive $100, a sum either raised by friends or family, by the churches or sometimes by the lady to be admitted herself.

As the reporter was about to leave the Aged Women’s home, he met an active old lady with rosy cheeks, and pleasant smile, coming into the grounds:

“What ! 80 years of age, and has walked to the end of the street railway track, King street, and is not the least bit tired, but goes around to see some of the younger and feebler one inside.

“The Spectator reporter walks over the lawn and down the gravel walk to the street in the bustle of the city, musing on the tenacity with which those who have apparently nothing to live for, cling to life.”¹

Aged Women's Home Image courtesy PreVIEW, Local History and Archives, Hamilton Public Library

 

 

 

1883 - July 26

For Hamiltonians in 1883 who were inclined to fish or hunt, the presence of the bay on the city’s doorstep was welcome. Although there were some signs of the water becoming polluted in some sections, it was generally believed that all fish pulled from the bay were edible.

During the morning of July 26, 1883, an interview was made a member of a local organization created with helping the hunting and fishing in the Hamilton vicinity from being exploited and even eradicated by illicit means:

“The Fish and Game Protective Association, of this city, said Mr. McKeand to a Spectator reporter this morning, has done good service for sportsmen in and around Hamilton. At present, it has a membership of from 160 to 180, comprising the best men of the community, and it is in a position to employ a number of game-keepers to look after pot hunters and others who offend against the law. Consequently, the honest sportsmen are protected from the poachers who sweep the waters with small-meshed nets, and snare game in the fields and woods.

“To encourage fishing, I offer a prize of $5 to whoever lands the largest bass or pike. So far, the heaviest caught has been one weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces.

“Yes, fishing in the Bay is good at present, but it will improve as the season advances. There is very little fly-fishing done here, but bait fishing is one of the principal amusements of the people. The baits in use are crawfish, natural or artificial, grasshoppers, minnows and worms. I think the grass hopper bait is the most attractive at this time of year. However, there are differences of opinion.

“Trolling will not commence for some time yet as the weed s are now very high. The gunning season will open on August 1, when the close period for woodcock will end. The snipe and mallard, gray duck, black duck, wood and summer duck season will open on August 15. Sportsmen are getting ready for it now, and we may expect to hear some lively popping shortly.”¹

¹“Fishing in the Bay : The Season Said to be a Good One – Opening of the Gunning Season.”

Hamilton Spectator.   July 26, 1883.

 

 

1883 - July -10

When the terrible flooding of the Thames river in London, Ontario, occurred on July 10, 1883, many communities responded in various ways to raise money to assist those who suffered.
          In Hamilton, the Thirteenth Battalion band held a fund-raising concert in the drill hall. It was an effort that despite a lower than expected turnout, was considered to be a “major success” raising significant funds to be forwarded to the Forest City. An extensive concert was played to a highly appreciative crowd, with a total of $60 raised.
          A letter to the editor which appeared in the Spectator of July 25, under the headline, “A Reminder” was sent from a person who identified himself, or herself, only as “A Lover of the Game.”
          It read, in part, as follows:
          “It is to be regretted that the managers of our Junior Baseball club do not devise some better method of keeping the public posted in regard to intended  matches than the plan at present adopted by them, which consists in the issue of a few posters displayed in the shop windows or strung on street cars a day or so before the match takes. If these gentlemen would only show a little enterprise and avail themselves of the advertising columns of the daily press, which is the only proper medium through which to attract public attention and secure patronage, they would find the money thus spent a good investment. The insertion of a small advertisement in each of our papers some days in advance of a match would not only remove a frequent cause of complaint on the part of patrons of the game, owing to the difficulty they experience in finding out when a match is on the tapis, but would result in a largely increased attendance of spectators. It seems astonishing the managers  should be so blind to their own interests as to require ‘coaching’ in this respect. Wake up, gentlemen, and have some enterprise about you; quit your present ‘one horse’ style of doing business and try a little newspaper advertising for a change. It will pay.”
          Another letter written by IMPROVEMENT was in response to the Spectator’s call for boulevards in some of the city’s residential areas :
          “TO THE EDITOR – I read with interest your remarks yesterday morning regarding boulevards. There is no question that the streets can be made to look far better than they do at present by lessening the width of roadway and boulevarding the sidewalks. And if that is not sufficient reason to induce the council to take up this question, there is the very tangible one that by reducing the width of the roadway as suggested by you, the cost of keeping the road in repair will be proportionately reduced. Before, however, anything can be done  in this direction, it is necessary that the cow nuisance be entirely and forever done away with. By this I mean that cows be excluded from the city altogether. As matters are at present, the suburbs are overrun with cows, doing considerable damage and interfering with improvements which would otherwise be made. Until the council is comprised of men who are above the fear of losing the support of a small section of voters by initiating and carrying through reforms actually, I fear no amount of talk will be of any avail.
          Another improvement needed is the compelling of owners of vacant lots to fence them in. Is there no member of the council with sufficient  “goaheadativeness” in him to take the matter in hand?” ^{1
1  “}The Boulevard Question” Hamilton Spectator july 26, 1883
          Extensive farmlands filled the townships outside the borders of the city of Hamilton. City citizens took a great interest in the progress of the crops, and, as shown in the following article, the Spectator was only too pleased to discuss the state of the crops in July 1883:
          “The Spectator yesterday morning had a conversation with a number of farmers respecting the crops in the county of Wentworth. Mr. Brown, of East Flamboro, stated that the wheat crop in his section of the county would be very good, except that grown on low land, which was full of rust and would be of very little use. The frequent rain of late has converted the low land into swamp, and the stocks of the wheat are swelled and rusty. On high land, the rain had no bad effect, and the steady weather of the past ten or twelve days has changed the prospect into a very good one. Oats are an abundant crop, and as they are a paying crop, the farmers are rejoicing.

“The harvest in all parts of Wentworth will be fully three weeks behind last year, but the crops will be pretty near as good. In Glanford and Ancaster, there is more or less rust in the low and swampy land, but the damage will not be heavy, and the straw, although rusty, will bring a fair price.”²

² “Rust in Wheat” Hamilton Spectator. July 26, 1883.

Another crop of common interest to Hamiltonians in the summer of 1883 was the hunting and crop:

“ ‘The Fish and Game Protective Association of this city,’ said Mr. McKeand to a Spectator reporter, this morning, has done good service for sportsmen in and around Hamilton. At present, it has a membership of from 100 to 180, comprising the best men of the community, and it is in position to employ a number of gamekeepers to look after pot-hunters and others who offend against the law. Consequently, honest sportsmen are protected from the poachers who sweep the waters with small-meshed nets, and snare game in the fields and woods.

“ ‘To encourage fishing, I offer a prize of $5 to whoever lands the largest bass or pike. So far the heaviest caught has been one weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces. Yes, fishing in the bay is good at present, but it will improve as the season advances. There is very little fly-fishing done here, but bait-fishing is one of the principal amusements of the people. The baits in use now are crawfish, natural or artificial, grasshoppers, minnows and worms. I think the grasshopper bait the most attractive at this time of year. However, there are differences of opinion on that point.

“ ‘Trolling will not commence for some time yet, as the weeds are now very high. The gaming season will open on August 1, when the close period for woodcock will end. The snipe and mallard, gray duck, black duck, wood and summer duck season will open on August 15. Sportsmen are getting ready for it now, and we may expect to hear some lively popping ahead shortly.’ ”³

³ “Fishing in the Bay : The Season Said to Be a Good One – Opening of the Gunning Season” Hamilton Spectator. July 26, 1883.

A few items from The Diurnal Epitome : What Goeth On In and About the City column for July 26, 1883 :

-      There are about ten acres of Canadian thistles growing along Bay street north.

-      There is a bundle of old umbrellas and parasols in the street railway waiting room on Stuart street.

-      An empty baby carriage was found on Catharine street Tuesday night by the police and taken to No. 3 station.

-      A small boy named Archie, aged 4 years, is missing from No. 32 Walnut street. He was dressed in dark pants, dark blue waist and a white straw hat.

-      The Wentworth Fish and Game association intend putting trout fru in creeks and raising stock, if they get encouragement from the farmers to do so.

-      Mr. and Mrs. Ward arrived Tuesday with a party of six boys and two girls from the Earl of Shaftesbury Home, England. They have all been placed with farmers in this neighborhood. The party was met at Toronto by Wm. Osbourne, local agent of the home.

-      P. C. Bainbridge arrested a middle-aged man named Francis McGuire on Cannon street, between James and Macnab. McGuire was drunk, very drunk, so drunk that he saw snakes and other things, and had a regular fit of D. T.’s He said he had $40 but when taken to the station, no money could be found on him.

-      The commons on Wellington north, between Macaulay and Wood streets is infested with a lot of disorderly boys who make things particularly disgusting on Sundays by fighting and playing cards and baseball. Four complaints have been entered against the loafers by neighbors; but as soon as a policeman makes his appearance, order is restored so that no arrests can be made.

-      At the temperance tent yesterday afternoon, Miss Alice Beatty, a young miss of ten summers, whose parents reside on John street north, recited a temperance poem in such a manner as to elicit the hearty applause of all present. The poem, which was a long one, was learned by the youthful miss the previous evening, and was rendered without a break or the least hesitancy. Miss Beatty, if she chooses to study, has a brilliant career before her as a reader and elocutionist.

A summer excursion on the bay was taken on July 25, 1883 by 400 citizens. About 8 o’clock, Mackay’s wharf was crowded with those who had bought tickets for the event and who boarded on one of the large lake steamers, the Queen Victoria. The big boat was decorated illuminated by many beautiful Chinese lanterns.

At 8:30 the Queen Victoria set off from the wharf soon followed by one of the smaller bay steamers, the Clara Louise. On board, the small steamer was Professor Hand, the city’s famous fireworks artists, his assistants and members of the city’s press corps:

“Those on board the Victoria had a fine view of the whole proceedings. The fiery fountains set on the surface marked the course of the Clara Louise, although the boat herself could not be seen.

“The Independent band (on board the Queen Victoria) played several selections in a very creditable manner. On arriving at the Beach, the excursionists took the ball room of the Lake View house, where Meakins’ band furnished music for dancing. A number of balloons with fireworks with fireworks attached were sent up from the Beach and were viewed with great admiration by those who were outside, as well as a large number who were out on the bay and lake in rowboats and yachts.

“The party returned about 10 o’clock all happy and pleased with the whole affair.”⁴

⁴ “Fireworks on the Bay : A Magnificent Display – Dance and Band Concert at the Beach” Hamilton Spectator. July 26, 1883.

The major issue of concern to the Spectator in the July 26 1883 copy of the newspaper concerning public health matters, particularly diseases spread by unsanitary conditions :

“Under the fostering care of heat, fever grows up strong and healthy as a country babe. It also draws heaps of nourishment from back yards and alleyways. In the festering slums of the poor quarters, where poverty reigns supreme and where and sickness, disease and fever, stalk abroad like gaunt advances of death, the dread disease is born and inhales the noxious odors that give it strength life and strength.”⁵

⁵ “Health of the City : What the Inspector Has to Say About it” Hamilton Spectator July 26, 1883.

In conversation with the Assistant City Health Inspector Ford, a Spectator reporter disputed Mr. Ford’s assertion that  the “health of the city has never been so good as it is now” ⁵

The conversation between the reporter and the assistant health inspector follows, the reporter speaking first:

“ ‘Do you have many complaints of places around the city?

“ ‘No, we have very few this year, and they are getting less every day. When we get a report, we attend to it promptly, and don’t let our work get ahead of us.

“ ‘Is there much sickness in the city among the poorer classes?

“ ‘ Well, I don’t think there is. Dr. Ryall looks after that. But he is away in Muskoka  just now.” ⁵

The reporter discovered that there was a process to identify problem area to the Health department but it didn’t not seem to be used very much:

“The complaint book does not show that very many complaints have been made about dirty backyards and alleyways. Certainly there are not as many as might be expected in a city of this size. The majority of the complaints were about back yards. A few of them bore reference to pigs and goats, and the uncleanliness they caused. All these complaints had the official tick against them to show that they had been attended to.”⁵

The reporter then went on to state his vastly different opinion of the city’s health than the opinion stated by the Assistant Health Inspector:

“ ‘ But is what Mr. Ford says correct? Is this a phenomenally health of the city? Some close observers seem to think not. This city has its slums as well as other large places. Almost at the foot of Caroline street, there is a deep gully. Here refuse of all kinds is thrown. The decaying forms of dead cats and other animals decorate its sides. Rotten refuse of all sorts finds a resting place there. Along the bottom a sluggish stream of refuse water winds its dismal way. Stagnant pools border it. The place is disgusting to look at.

“The foul smell that arises from this festering hole is something awful. Like the deadly upas tree, its odors and vile vapors are poisonous. Yet any afternoon forms of children can be seen on its banks inhaling the noxious gases which breed pestilence and death.

“The children do not look very healthy. The majority of them have pale, thin faces and wretched attenuated forms. Red, festering sores are on their cheeks. Sore, inflamed eyes with a sickening lackluster in such young children gaze up stupidly from their unwashed, unhealthy faces at passersby. The wailing cry of sick children is constantly heard. Does this look like a healthy city?”⁵

1883 - July - 9

Labor unrest was present in Hamilton in July 1883 as the telegraphers of the city were on strike.

          On Tuesday July 24, 1883, the Spectator sent a reporter to the office of the Great Northern company to have a chat with Mr. Black, manager of the company’s Hamilton office.

          In the interview, Black claimed that he and his firm were coping with the situation as much as possible :

          “ ‘We are getting along well,’ said he, ‘and refusing employment to men every day. We have eight in the office now and two more are coming. We manage to keep the work up well. The only time we were really bothered was the day the men struck. That threw us back some. But we are getting bravely over that. Why are we refusing outsiders employment? Because we want to give the old men a chance to come back again. We don’t want to ask them, but if they would come to us it would be alright.’

          “ ‘The men we have working here are all practiced telegraphers and know their business well. The Knights of Labor are threatening to ‘settle’ them if they don’t quit working. If we can find out who is doing the threatening, we will make an example of him or them.’ ”¹

“The Broken Circuit : The Striking Telegraphers are Still Out” Hamilton Spectator. July 24, 1883.

          The strikers who were interviewed later disputed some of Mr. Black’s claims, including his statement that the salaries at his company ran from $35 to $50 a month:

          “This the men said is not so. They claim that two of the men were working at the office here for $15 a month as the last pay list would show.”¹

The men also disputed Mr. Black’s claim that the replacement were first rate men:

“ ‘Why,’ said one of them, ‘one of the new hands tried to get up the Spec’s baseball special from Buffalo the other night and couldn’t do it. Smith had to read it out to him. I know that for a fact.’ ¹

“When told what Mr. Black had said about taking them back, the reply was that they would not return unless the whole brotherhood did. ‘We will make no local compromise,’ said one, ‘but will stick to the brotherhood to the end.’ ”¹

A less confrontational story appeared in the July 24, 1883 issue of the Spectator under the headline “A Lucky Find” :

“The other day, John Mitchell, of Sheaffe street, made a lucky find on the mountain side. He is geologist, and while searching for the rare and curious stones, came across something that made his heart leap for joy and the blood in his veins throb like the pulsation of a 40 horse power steam engine.

“It is a stone, he says, that bears a marvelous resemblance to a flying squirrel. He says it is a petrified flying squirrel.”

A catastrophe was nearly caused by workmen who set up a derrick in front of the old Academy of Music building on James Street North:

“When changing the position of the derrick, it is necessary to hold in the top to keep it from falling, and for this purpose a man is employed.

“Monday morning shortly before 12 o’clock, the derrick was being moved, but instead of being properly secured, the top was left loose, the men thinking that the slope was such that it would remain in position. It was not, however, and the huge derrick, weighing almost a ton, fell across the street, breaking the ropes, smashing the fence, and sweeping down about a dozen lines of telegraph wire.

“In the fall, one of the side beams was smashed and a number of smaller pieces broken. It measured about 45 feet in length and completely crossed the street, but fortunately did not reach to the opposite sidewalk where a number of people were walking. A street car had passed up the street just as the derrick fell and had a narrow escape from being demolished.

“The accident was the result of gross carelessness on the part of the workmen, and had it occurred a little earlier in the day, the results would have been attended by fatalities. A gang of men was put to work and the derrick was repaired and raised in the course of an hour.”²

² “A Careless Workman : Allows a Derrick to Fall – Narrow Escape of Several People” Hamilton Spectator. July 24, 1883.

Finally, the Spectator’s The Diurnal Epitome” column carried several small items of particular interest:

- The street railway company did a rushing business yesterday. Owing to the great crowds attending Barnum’s show, they found it necessary to put on seven extra cars, and these were scarcely sufficient to supply the demand.

-      The Hamilton and Dundas Street Railway ran special trains into Hamilton yesterday bringing the people from Dundas and vicinity.

-      The farmers had most favorable weather during the past week for securing their hay. Some thousands of tons have been safely barned in neighboring townships.

-      Dundas people had a public holiday yesterday, and they made good use of it. By the immense number of people that came down on the Hamilton and Dundas Street Railway, it would seem that no one was left in the valley city.

-      Saturday’s terrible storm committed fearful ravages in the country around. Crops were injured right and left. Five head of cattle belonging to John Stonehouse, butcher of West Flamboro, were struck by lightning a killed in a field near Rock Chapel. Marshall Lyons, of the same place, lost one cow, and J. Bowers, another.

-      The holiday in Dundas yesterday was quietly observed by those who did not come into this city. All the places of business were closed, and the streets of the town were almost deserted.

 
- Sunday night, a large pane of plate-glass in the window of Charles Black & Co’s hardware store on King street east was smashed and rendered useless. The stone which caused the damage was found in the store. The pane was valued at from $75 to $100. No trace of the perpetrator can be got. Stone throwing by boys is altogether too prevalent in this city. Anyone found offending in this direction should be severely punished.”

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