1914-12-24rout

“Hamilton manufacturers have been favored with many orders from the British and French war offices since the war broke out, but it remained for the National Steel Car company to get orders which will bring a great deal more money to the city than all the other orders put together.”

Hamilton Spectator.  December 24, 1914 .

Most Hamiltonians, during the first few months of World War One, focused on volunteering, helping the families of volunteer dependents and of course, the events of the fighting in Belgium and France.

There had been a prolonged economic depression during 1913 and 1914. Most of the large manufacturers in Hamilton had felt the effects of that situation. With orders reduced, many workers were given shortened hours or laid off completely.

No doubt many of leaders of those big industries might have anticipated orders for war materials, but throughout the fall, only a few, minor orders had arrived.

The day before Christmas, 1914, a welcome present was made to workers in one large industry, the National Steel Car company:

“The company has received contracts for portable ovens and other material used on the field that totals up to $1,500,000, and there may be more to come.

“The British war office has ordered 250 portable kitchens, which are to be finished within the next three months and which means that the company’s plant will be working full office, both day and night, for months to come.

“The French war office has also placed substantial orders with the company for various materials used on the field of battle, and if the company can fill further orders for the French office within a stated time, they will be forthcoming.”¹

¹”National Car Company Gets $1,500, 000 Order”

Hamilton Spectator. December 24, 1914.

 A spectator reporter managed to get a brief statement from an official with the National Steel Company in which he said :

“ ‘We are more than pleased with the orders and I think that we will be able to fill the orders within the stipulated time. It means that we will be working full blast, but we are in a position to fill the orders, as there is no trouble getting mechanics and laborers at the present time.’ ”¹

Even before the huge order for the National Steel Car company was announced, another Hamilton manufacturer had received a large order from the British war office. The Otis-Fensom Elevator company had received a large order for shells and it was able to assure its work that they all would be able to work full time during the coming winter months, and predicted that there could well be three full shifts of eight hours each would soon be in place.

After Christmas, but before the year 1914 was finished, another good news item appeared in the Spectator concerning Hamilton’s industrial sector:

“General depression got another bump this morning in the form of an announcement from the Steel Company of Canada to the effect that an order which will total close to a million dollars, had been received from the war office for the manufacture of a special quality of steel, and within a short time, the big plant of the company will be running full blast, night and day, shifts being put on as formerly.

“The company’s big mill on Queen street, which has been closed for several months, will be reopened shortly and the work will be rushed. The large order means that the company will employ as many, if not more, men than it ever did, and the employees will be assured of work for some months to come, as it will take that long to fill the large order.”

As 1914 wound down, the employment situation in Hamilton was rapidly getting better as many industries were getting orders, of varying sizes, to turn out war materials as well as other orders reflecting the positive turn that the economy had made, ending the prolonged slump.

One company that benefited from war orders was the Sanford Manufacturing company which was turning over approximately 1,000 uniforms per day.