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Soaring Prices (17 September 1914)

By • On • In Economics, Fall 1914, Home Front

Concern over the increasing price of produce and dairy items was addressed in this issue. Locals feared that cheese would continue to skyrocket, as Labrador (an independent colony of the British Empire) could not afford to ship mass quantities of cheese to Ontario with the looming threat of war in the Canada. Internationally, several products were also looking bleak. Liquor from Spain was drying up after heavy rainfall damaged the grape harvest and restricted sea trade. Servia’s herbal exports to Canada also started to dry up as the war effort continued to take its toll on Canadian imports. Another important topic being addressed was the fact that 1914 was a poor harvest year for numerous countries.

(“Soaring Prices,” Ayr News, 17 September 1914)

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Unemployed Girls (17 September 1914)

By • On • In Economics, Fall 1914

In September, the Provincial Industrial Association convened in Toronto to discuss the recurrent issue of unemployed women. The Berlin Daily Telegraph reported that hundreds of women had been pushed out of factory work over the last several years. Mr. McNaught, head of the committee, was concerned over the possibility of women being forced to walk the streets, begging for employment.

The possibility of reducing minimum wage was also discussed during this meeting. A member of Toronto city council feared that this would only stir up “class antagonism.” Ontario’s concern over unemployment was a crucial issue for industrial centers at the outbreak of the war. The agricultural sector had the opposite problem, as it lacked manpower to bring in the crops and feared that there would be a crop failure in 1915.

(“Unemployed Girls Need Protection,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 17 September 1914)

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Ontario’s Intensive Farming (24 September 1914)

By • On • In Economics, Fall 1914

With the demand for food supplies increasing drastically for both national and international markets, Canada turned to Ontario. Located near the Great Lakes, and with CNR railway access in Guelph, the rich fields of this province were chosen to bear the burden of supplying food rations for the war effort.

A Berlin Daily Telegraph article demonstrated the skepticism that farmers had for the cause. With labour dwindling, the Federal Government was pushing for new scientific methods to be introduced on Canadian farms to increase agricultural production. These alterations to farming methods and techniques were to be introduced in early 1915 to replicate European intensive farming. The Canadian Government wanted to ensure that Canada could supply the war effort as fully as possible.

(Photo courtesy of Canadian War Museum, “Ontario’s Intensive Farming,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 24 September 1914)

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Demand for the News (24 September 1914)

By • On • In Economics, Fall 1914

With war raging in Europe on an unprecedented scale, Waterloo Region newspapers saw a chance for exponential monetary gains. The result was a consistent push to purchase a year subscription for the news. To ensure that readers purchased a year subscription, the newspapers offered early-bird specials. For example, subscribers could obtain the Berlin Daily Telegraph for $2.00 until January 1916. This is a consistent theme among the region’s several newspapers.

(“Demand for the News,“ Berlin Daily Telegraph, 24 September 1914)

 

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Industrial Expansion Halting in Ontario (28 September 1914)

By • On • In Economics, Fall 1914

The industrial growing pains of Ontario were still being felt even after the war contracts were being handed out in August and September of 1914. Only a select few companies were receiving war contracts from the government to stimulate new businesses. As the Berlin Daily Telegraph reported, this was a growing concern for Ontario’s economic future.

Over the span of one week a total of seven new companies were introduced in the province. Those include the: Claufield & Sons Ltd., Brantford Bowling & Athletic Club, Boxall and Matthhie Ltd., Welland Land Cooperative Society Ltd., Peninsular Motor Sales Co., Ltd., Feick Manufacturing Co., Sarnia Metal Products Co. This illustrated how the war economy was taking considerable time to fully develop in Canada.

(“Few new Companies are Being Formed,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 28 September 1914)

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Berlin’s Name weakens Economy (September 1914)

By • On • In 1914, Economics, German Newspapers, Timeline

Due to its German name, companies with factories in Berlin faced decreasing profits. This affected the employees and their income because 60% of the working population was employed in these factories. The editors of the Berliner Journal stated that blaming Berlin and its citizens for disloyalty was wrong as the city was “proud to be a Canadian city”. They encouraged their readership to donate to the patriotic fund. The well-known citizen Louis Breithaupt – of German origin himself – stated that although he was proud of his origins he and the other German-Canadians were “British to the core”.

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(“Berlin und der patriotische Fond” Berliner Journal, 30 September 1914)

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Hespeler Library Construction (8 October 1914)

By • On • In Economics, Fall 1914

Growing concerns over the cost of the war effort and the downturn in industrial production was causing the town of Hespeler to second guess its plans to construct a local library. In August the more prosperous Waterloo had announced that they were halting their library’s construction due to the war effort. In Hespeler local income from industry had only brought in $80,000 in the last year. Additionally, unlike Berlin’s rising population, the town of Hespeler had experienced a slight decrease in population and there was less demand for the local market. This, along with the strains of war felt in Hespeler, resulted in the town council second-guessing its decision to build a public library.

Regardless, the city council passed the motion to construct the library and the city obtained a $10,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation to start construction. Started by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, this group supplied money nation wide until 1917 to build public libraries. Carnegie libraries are notable for their Beau-Arts architectural style. The Hespeler Library is functional to this day. It is encased in a glass expansion, which was constructed in the last decade.

(Canada’s Historic Places, “Carnegie’s Canadian Libraries.” Accessed April 19th, 2014. http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/pages/34_carnegie.aspx, “Library Construction” Hespeler Herald, October 8, 1914)

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Buy Canadian (15 October 1914)

By • On • In Economics, Fall 1914, Home Front

A common theme in most of the Waterloo Region’s newspapers was a push for locals to purchase Canadian made goods. Over $618,000,000 was spent importing foreign goods to Canada in 1913. The Hespeler Herald suggested that the town create a “Made-in-Hespeler” motto. There were plenty of industries in the small town, including: R. Forbes Co., which produced knit goods, Hespeler furniture factory; Hall-Zryd Foundry Co., which supplied furnaces; Stamped & Enameled Ware Co., Owen Daveno Co., which manufactured couches; and the local hydro company, the Universal Lighting Rod Co. Not only would locals be supporting the war effort by buying Canadian made goods, Hespeler could also promote its own industrial expansion.

As the war economy gained momentum, there was an evident drive towards keeping production within Waterloo county in order to promote industrial expansion and increased employment opportunities.

(“Buying Canadian” Hespeler Herald, 15 October 1914)

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“The cost of the European war” (23 December 1914)

By • On • In 1914, Economics, German Newspapers, Timeline

One statistician has estimated the costs of the war. Every day it would cost about $149 million. The destruction in France, Belgium and Russia would be the biggest cost amounting to several billions. He concluded that the costs of this war would have to be paid by the loser.

Germany’s financial situation (7 October 1914)

The Allies doubted that Germany could stand the costs for the war for more than a short time, but a new analysis had shown that Germany could pay for its current military expenses for longer than a year.

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(„Die Kosten des europäischen Krieges“, Berliner Journal, 23 December 1914; „Deutsche Kriegskosten 20 Millionen täglich“, Berliner Journal, 7 October 1914)

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Berlin Companies Benefit from Large War Contract (7 January 1915)

By • On • In 1915, Economics

While the efforts to supply armies in the field caused local concern over rising prices, the war economy also brought commerce to the Waterloo Region. On January 7th, the Waterloo Chronicle-Telegraph reported that Ottawa had awarded a contract to McBrine & Co., a local luggage manufacturer, for the production of saddles for the Russian Army. Leather for the saddles would be provided by another Berlin firm, the Lang Tanning Company. The contract was reported as bringing $100,000 of revenue to the region. In March, McBrine and Co. would receive another major contract to manufacture artillery harnesses for horse-drawn field artillery.

(“Berlin Firm gets big Order for Army Saddles,” Waterloo Chronicle-Telegraph, 7 January 1915; “Will Make 1,500 Harness Sets for Artillery,” Waterloo Chronicle-Telegraph, 4 March 1915.)

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