1914-09-05a

Although their husbands had left for the front weeks before, and although there had been solemn assurances that wives and dependents of the volunteers would be taken of, there had not been much financial help immediately forthcoming.

          Late in the day, September 4, 1914, a rumor was circulating that Hamilton Mayor Allan had signed a number of checks for local relief to some war dependents.

          The following morning, the mayor’s office in the City Hall was the focus for a rush of women wondering if any of the payments were ^for them:

          “The 100 checks signed yesterday by the mayor, covering cases which had been investigated and found to be genuine, were soon distributed this morning but the hundred or more women who called later for pay checks were doomed to disappointment.”¹

¹ “Appeal for Help : Scores of Women Besieged Mayor’s Office Today”

Hamilton Spectator. September 5, 1914.

Mayor Allan happened to be out of the city that morning, and Acting Mayor Gardiner, had not arrived at City Hall in the morning. That left a solitary stenographer in the mayor’s office with the task of explaining to the dozens of women that there was no money for them.

By noon hour, the rush of women arriving to hopefully receive some relief money at the mayor’s office continued. All the staff could do was to take names and addresses and promise that their cases would be dealt with as quickly as possible.

          In the very same day’s issue of the Spectator which reported the situation at the mayor’s office, there was another article showing what the citizens of Hamilton, not the local government, were preparing to do to raise funds for the wives and children of the departed volunteers.

The following Tuesday, a mass meeting was organized to be held in the old drill hall, the northerly portion of the armories on James Street North.

Many preparations were being made for the fund-raising event, but the first announcement concerned the music to be provided:

“All the bands in the city will be in attendance. From 7:15 to 7:45 o’clock, the 91^st band will play at the Gore, and then escort the captains and workers of the patriotic fund to the drill hall.

“The street car company has placed a car at the disposal  of the 13^th regiment band and for an hour before the meeting starts the car will be whirled around town.

“The 91^st pipe band under Pipe Major Dunbar will meet at the corner of Wellington and King streets at 7:15, where it will play for some time and later march to the drill hall.

“The 91^st bugle band, under Bugle-Major Marshall will be at Woodlands Park at 7:15 o’clock and play there a while, also marching to the drill hall in time for the mass meeting.

“The 13^th bugle band, under Bugle-Major George Martin, will meet at James and Herkimer streets at 7:15 p.m. The Oddfellows band, under Bandmaster Darrow, will meet at Victoria Park at 7:15 p.m. All other city bands will march from their respective quarters to the drill hall.

“This is the first time in the history of the city that all the bands have been combined in this way. The musical program of the massed bands will be under the direction of H. A. Stares, Mus. Bac.”²

² “All City Bands Will Take Part : One of the Features of Tuesday’s Patriotic Meeting : Will March From Various Points to Armories”

Hamilton Spectator. September 5, 1914

There were preparations being made by a huge number of Hamiltonians to make the event a success. As plans evolved, it was decided that the mass meeting on the upcoming Tuesday would become the kick off for a three day fund-raising endeavor with the goal of collecting at least $150,000 in three days.

The huge initiative was came from members of the newly-formed Hamilton Patriotic Association, a local branch of the Canadian Patriotic Association.

To clarify the goals of the fund-raising event, and of the Patriotic associations generally, the following appeared in the Spectator of September 8, 1914:

“WHAT IT STANDS FOR

THE CANADIAN PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATION

Is an association formed with headquarters at Ottawa, under charter received from the Dominion parliament to aid the wives and dependents of volunteers and reservists who have gone to the front from Canada.

The Hamilton Patriotic association is a branch which will be affiliated with the Canadian Patriotic association.

All funds collected by the Hamilton Patriotic association will be deposited and remain in a bank or the credit of the Canadian Patriotic association as long as locally required.

The local board will examine and report on all local cases requiring relief.

The funds will be paid out only on checks signed by the Hamilton officers of the association.

The relief to be administered from this fund will be extended to the families of Canadian volunteers, also to those of British reservists and reservists of British allies domiciled in Hamilton”³

³ “Everyone Is Hustling For Relief Fund”

Hamilton Spectator.  September 8, 1914