Politics

The federal government’s plans for the distribution of pensions to soldiers and their dependents were not well developed in the early years of the war. Private insurance companies were also wary about getting involved in this type of venture, as they lacked a clear understanding of the extent of the risk. This left many women at home with uncertainty about how they would get by should their husband be disabled or killed overseas, especially if they were raising children. Some municipalities decided to take such matters into their own hands and make sure that everyone was cared for at a very local level. On May 5, 1915, the town of Stratford in the neighbouring county of Perth voted to create a debenture fund of $10,000 out of the town’s budget in order to aid the families of men who had enlisted, should assistance be needed. The vote was unanimous, and speaks to the strong sense of duty locals felt towards those who were personally sacrificing for the war effort.

Waterloo Chronicle, May 13, 1915.

By January of 1915, town councillors in Galt had already begun the necessary motions towards having their town recognized as a city. At first the plans were progressing smoothly, but in February they hit a snag. As the Berlin Daily Telegraph later reported, the “Scotch instinct” to save money had been the original motivation for Galt’s movement to become a city, and this met with resentment from members of the Waterloo County Council who represented other municipalities.

By becoming a city, Galt would leave the county jurisdiction and no longer pay taxes into it. Fearing this loss of revenue, several Waterloo County reeves objected to Galt’s removal from the county based on the fact that Galt only had a population of 12,000 and city status was usually not granted until a municipality contained 15,000 residents. A compromise was reached at a meeting held on February 3, in which Galt could become a city immediately, but would continue to pay county taxes until it grew to 15,000 residents. With that out of the way, Galt officially gained city status on June 1, 1915, roughly 99 years after its original founding in 1816. After Berlin, this made Galt the second municipality to reach city status in Waterloo County. The war put constraints on the new city’s celebration, but mild festivities were held throughout the day.

Berlin Daily Telegraph June 1, 1915.

Waterloo Chronicle Feb 4, 1915 and January 28, 1915.

Although not necessarily related to the war, in the summer of 1915 the people of Waterloo County were noticing a reduction in the quality of the milk sold in their towns. This article from the Waterloo Chronicle on July 1 pointed out this fact and printed a list of test results showing the quality of the milk sold by a number of vendors in town. The problem was not limited to Waterloo, however. On August 12, the Elmira town council passed a motion that would re-regulate the sale of milk within their township in response to similar complaints.

Waterloo Chronicle, July 1, 1915.

Elmira Signet, August 12, 1915.

In 1915, Canadians were still enlisting voluntarily at a high enough rate to maintain their units overseas, so conscription was not yet a serious topic of discussion. However, Canadians still took note when the United Kingdom began to debate the issue, as reported in this article reprinted from a London newspaper. The issue was particularly concerning in a region like Waterloo where enlistment rates had been lower than national averages because of its large German population. As in the UK, young men in Canada who would not enlist were demeaningly referred to as “slackers” and sometimes harassed when in public. For the time being, however, enlistment was high enough throughout Canada that nobody would need to be legally forced into the service.

Berlin Daily Telegraph August 18, 1915.

English, Kitchener, 109.