1914-03-26

“While the ice on the bay does not lend one to talk of the opening of navigation, preparations which are being made at the offices and docks of the Canada Steamship lines remind one that the time is not far distant when the whistles signaling for the swing bridge at the beach canal to be opened will be heard and the lake trip to Toronto will be the popular outing.”

          Hamilton Spectator.   March 26, 1914.

          The end of the long winter was getting tantalizing close. The upcoming open of navigation was of enough interest to Hamiltonians that the Spectator sent a reporter to the waterfront.

          The ice on the bay, he reported, was still fifteen inches thick and was showing no signs of imminent break up, despite the warming temperatures of recent days. It was felt that the recent rain and the probable advent of a strong east wind would soon change conditions on the bay very quickly.

Many of the men with considerable experience with Hamilton Harbor were predicting that the popular lake steamer, Macassa, would be able to make her first cross-lake excursion from Toronto on April 1, less than a week away:

“It is All Fools’ day, but the officers of the Canada Steamship lines will carry out the plans if the bay is clear of ice by that date, and they have not anticipated the opening of steamship traffic without making due preparations for it.

“The boats have been given their usual winter overhauling, and the Macassa is ready to take her maiden trip of the season the minute the ice breaks up sufficiently to allow her to work her way out of Toronto bay and into Burlington bay.

“The Modjeska and the Turbinia are receiving the usual attention, but not be in commission until some weeks after the Macassa opens the season.

“Both the passenger and freight boats of the company will be equipped with wireless telegraph apparatus as provided for in the recent amendments to the international marine laws.”¹

¹ “Getting Ready for Navigation : Great Preparations Made for Opening of Season : Canada Steamship Lines Had Made Many Changes : Accommodation of Public Given Special Attention”

          Hamilton Spectator.  March 26, 1914

While Sunday service between Hamilton and Lewiston, New York were assured for the navigation season of 1914, the directors of the Canada Steamship Lines, although allowed to do so legally, were undecided as yet regarding possible Sunday service between Hamilton and Toronto.

As the Canada Steamships Lines had recently purchased the assets of the Hamilton steamship company, the company was ready to invest heavily as regards substantial improvements to the various docks on the waterfront at the foot of James, John and Wellington streets. Plans were in plan to make it easier for passengers on the Hamilton Street Railway to get directly from the street car line to the dock of their choice, whether their destination was New York State, Toronto or all the way to Montreal.

With the ice still seemingly still gripping the bay tightly, the navigation season of 1914 was about to begin shortly.

1914-03-28aa

“Waterdown is located in the township of East Flamboro, in the county of Wentworth, in the very heart of the best farming and farm section in America.”

         Hamilton Spectator. March 28, 1914.

         As part of its on-going series describing towns in area, the Hamilton Spectator on Saturday March 28, 1914 published a number of small articles describing the positive attributes of Waterdown under the bold headline, “Waterdown : Beautiful For its Situation.”

         The first article described ideal geographical situation of Waterdown as follows:

         “It stands 300 feet above the level of Lake Ontario, and from its high altitude one may see plainly with the naked eye on a clear day, the city of Hamilton with its thousands of tall chimneys, and even beyond to the historic battle fields and towering monument of Stoney Creek.

         “From its numerous vantage points, one get a glimpse of some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the world. Here, one may stand on the tracks of the C. P. R., or in front of one of the houses nearby, and look down into hundreds of feet of thickly wooded ravines. Here one may also see the wooden platform erected by Rev. C. W. Gordon (Ralph Connor) in which he produced the manuscript of his famous novel, the Prospector.”¹

              ¹ “Endowed By Nature With Lavish Hand : Situated Amid Scenery of Rare Picturesqueness : Altitude Is High and Soil Very Fertile.”

         Hamilton Spectator. March 28, 1914

         The full page coverage of the village of Waterdown as it stood in early 1914 was full references to the superlatives :

         “As a health resort, it would hard to find the equal of Waterdown. With its high altitude, one gets but the purest of air, and with every breath one feels its benefit and inspiration.

         Here one also finds rock springs water flowing in abundance from thousands of miniature springs and rivulets, all flowing into one transparent winding stream which flows through the town, pursuing its tortuous, swirling way until it reaches Lake Ontario.”¹

              Although seemingly remote, the town of Waterdown in 1914 was actually readily accessible:

         “Some idea may be gathered concerning the large amount of traffic between Waterdown and Hamilton over the new C.P.R. line when it is said that in one month recently six thousand passengers purchased tickets between these points, and every one of the nine daily trains is crowded with Hamilton or Waterdown citizens coming and going.

         “In the summer months, hundreds of Waterdown and Hamilton citizens travel back and forth between these places by the regular country roads. Here also one finds great causes for delight, as it is possibly one of the most picturesque natural regions in Canada. Throughout the entire drive of six miles, a series of magnificent scenes strike the eye.”¹

              The arrival of railway connection directly between Hamilton and Waterdown was extremely important to Waterdown’s advancement in the years immediately before World War One :

         “Every place, however large or small, has occasions to which its residents delight to look back. July 1, 1912 is one of those days in the history of Waterdown, and it will ever be remembered by the citizens as the most outstanding in the history of the beautiful suburb of Hamilton.

         “On the morning of that day, the pretty little town of Waterdown donned its best holiday attire. Flags floated most high from housetops, and throughout the town one could hear the glad voices of hundreds of men, women and children, the objective point of all being the new C.P.R. depot, nestling at the foot of a most picturesque ravine in the very heart of the business and residential district. And there good cause for the special enthusiasm, for within an hour, the first train over the new Hamilton-Guelph division of the C.P.R. would arrive, the first train to enter the previously isolated district.”²

              ² “Coming of Railway Marked New Epoch : July 1, 1912, Banner Day in Waterdown’s History : Has Grown Industrially Since That Time.”

         Hamilton Spectator.  March 28, 1914.

         Before the arrival of regular train service, Waterdown had been “a quiet country hamlet, with a population that never exceeded six or seven hundred.”²

The Spectator reporter claimed that the reason that Waterdown residents celebrated so enthusiastically on July 1, 1912, was that there was a general feeling “that their realization that it marked an epoch in the history of the place, that the line of demarcation between industrial failure and success had been crossed. The citizens realized that with coming of the railway, their little town with its great natural advantages, the gates of which had rusted on their hinges for almost a century, would be opened to industrial, residential and social progress, that Hamilton citizens and businessmen would turn their attention in that direction, that prosperity, which for years had remained dormant, would quickly advance, and for the first in its history, Waterdown would take on an air of prosperity and assured growth.”²

Indeed, the bold optimism seemed to have been justified. In the first two years since the arrival, Waterdown’s population had topped 1,000 in the spring of 1914, and another 1,000 people were predicted to make Waterdown their home in the following two years.

1914-03-23aa

With the inquest over, it would seem that discussion on the Mackay-Gaw matter, and  on morality in 1914 would die away.

However, the Spectator managed to extend things after receiving a letter from a girl who had attended some of the notorious parties at 196 Hughson Street South.

Her letter to the Spectator follow:

“To the Editor :

I trust you will find space in your columns to print the following letter in defense of James Gow, the gentleman who, alone and friendless in his hour of need, took his life yesterday.

To begin with, I am a girl of twenty years of age – a stenographer – visiting at present, friends in your city.

This is my third visit to Hamilton, and on such occasions, I have met and been entertained by Mr. Gow. I was introduced to him by a girl friend, and he asked us if we cared to ‘come up’ that evening. My friend said she thought it could be arranged – and, as I was a stranger, knowing nothing whatever about him, I agreed to accompany her.

When we arrived at his home that evening, we found a number of girls already there, and had scarcely divested ourselves our wraps came in – they were very young – and Mr. Gow, who was talking to us, asked them how they managed to get up so soon again, to which one replied, ‘Oh, I’m supposed to be down at A—‘s place, helping her make a hat, and she is supposed to be at my place.’ He said, in reply, ‘You must leave early, then, or your parents will wonder what has kept you.’ To this the same girl replied, ‘Oh, you know A—lives east of of Sherman avenue, and I can miss the last car, and have to walk all the way home, and she can say the same to her people.’ With that, we joined the others, and general introductions followed. Stranger though I was, most of those men’s names were familiar to me as prominent business men; but the two girls of whom I speak were the only young ones – the others’ ages would range from twenty-two or three to thirty years. Music, singing, dancing and supper were indulged in. Wine was served, but none forced to partake of it. Mr. Gow, who seated himself by me, remarked on my abstinence, and when I said I never drank, he said, ‘You’re wise not to – do not start.’ This was the commencement of a long talk between us, the gist of which was that most of the men present were jaded business men, whose wives were too busy with their social duies, too tired from an afternoon of auction bridge to try to amuse their husbands in the evening, with the result that they sought it elsewhere. ‘And,’ he concluded, ‘these girls whom you see here tonight, know that the majority of these men are married, and that they are playing with fire, but they come of their own free will, just as you did. The consequences must be borne by themselves.’ When the party broke up at a late hour, we were driven home in a car, and that was the last I saw of Mr. Gow, until my next visit, a short time later.

Again we met him and again we went to his home, where practically the same people were again, and on my last visit, but a short time ago, we again visited him.

Now, in all my three visits, everything which took place was perfectly proper, unconventional – yes – but the same form of entertainment takes place every night in the cabarets and cafes in the city in which my home is, and, as Mr. Gow said at one time when I asked why he did this sort of thing. ‘I am only a lonesome old man, seeking forgetfulness.’ That’s what anyone in trouble does, but some have different and far worse methods.

In conventional social circles here, I have met some of your gilded society youths who showed me far less respect than the dead man – even though I met them through their equals – and I would say to Deputy Chief Whatley and his morality squad, that if he and they would patrol the Dundas and Ancaster roads occasionally, many a young girl might be saved from ruin by these same young men, whose fathers, owners of cars, let their sons have use of them at night. Then, with liquor usually stored in the tonneau, they take some innocent little girl along with them for a spin, and is she refuses to listen and accede to their insulting proposals, and is she can fight them off in defense of her honor, she is left to walk back to her home – a sadder and wiser little girl. You can see these fellows every night in the week on your principal streets, picking up girls of sixteen and seventeen years, and the sequel is already told.

In conclusion, I have only to say that I know that Mr. Gow has befriended more than one girl – and I know also that more than one will miss his jovial smile.

For my part, I can only ask that God will have mercy on the soul of one of the most perfect gentlemen I have ever met.

Thanking you, Mr. Editor, I am yours sincerely,

                  MANHATTAN.”¹

¹ Victim’s Girl Friend Tells Inside Story : Lonesome Old Man Opened Heart to Her : Left Everything to His Wife and Daughter”

Hamilton Spectator. March 23, 1914.

Unsurprisingly, Manhattan’s’ letter to the Spectator provoked much reaction :

“Already the Spectator is in receipt of a number of letters which take exception to the girl’s attitude in excusing Gow because he was ‘just a lonely old man, seeking forgetfulness,’ as he described it himself.”¹

¹ “Woman Writes in Defense of Deputy Chief : Commends Him For Activity in Interest of Morals : Takes Exception to Attitude of Gow’s Defender : No Sympathy for Girls Who Entertain Married Men.”

Hamilton Spectator. March 25, 1914.

One of the letter’s was published in full :

“To the Editor, - Would you kindly allow me a space in your valuable paper to answer a letter I noticed in your columns by one Manhattan, who wrote in defense of one who had been a friend to her. Of course, it is right and proper for us to speak of people as we find them, but it seems to my way of thinking, going a little too far, when we speak of man as ‘the most perfect gentleman,’ as of a man who had faults like the rest of us.

“I do not think any perfect gentleman would allow such a thing to happen in his own home as your Manhattan admits to taking part in. And I do not think it is any credit to her to admit being one of such a party on different occasions.

         “One who takes her standard of gentlemen from men who participate in such things is, to my way of thinking, hardly a competent judge of such matters.

          “A man who is a gentleman would protect his fellow men from all harm to the best of his ability. I do not sympathize with girls who help entertain married men when they knew they were married, and fathers perhaps.

“She also speaks of men being neglected by their society-loving wives. I wonder in how many cases that is true. But even so, does a man, a husband and father himself, need to go out and court forgetfulness in that way? Is he so selfish as to profit from some other man’s daughter’s ruin, or allow her to risk her good name?

“She speaks of two very young girls and of the falsehoods they told to their parents to get there. Does she think it right of any man or woman to harbor children in their homes like that? She says the girls were all supposed to know they went on their own responsibility. Does she not think it more fitting for a father to keep temptation out of children’s way?

“I really do think, Manhattan, you show very bad taste for a stranger to visit our city, and then cast slurs on Deputy Chief Whatley and his men. He is just a man trying to clean up a bit, where he sees it it is so badly needed. He sees where his duty lies and is man enough to do it.

“About the Ancaster and Dundas roads, quite true, no doubt, but all in good time. No doubt, when a few of them are caught, they will write to him and tell him ‘he is on the wrong track and that it would pay him better to look after a few houses where married men are allowed to entertain young girls and leave the single fellows alone.’

“I am a young girl myself, about your age, but happily married now. And it seems very pitiful to me to go uptown and see girls I knew at school with good parents, ordinary working people some of them, dressed very fashionable, oh so different to their mothers and to what they themselves used to be, although they never seem to work, and I really think some of them need a shock of some sort to wake them up to the perilous path they seem to be pursuing. A good time seems to sum up everything for them.

“Thanking you for your space, I remain,

A BOOSTER FOR THE DEPUTY.¹

1914-03-23a

The coroner’s inquest into the death of James N. Gow was conducted on Monday March 23, 1914. The jury had been hastily assembled within a few hours after Gow’s body had been discovered at the Terminal the previous Friday afternoon.

          The jury viewed Gow’s body at the city morgue before it was transferred to the Blachford funeral home. During the public viewing hours, very few people chose to pay their respects to the deceased man.

          There had been some question whether A. B. Mackay would agree to testify at the inquest. Although Mackay himself was willing to testify, it was felt by Mackay’s lawyer that his client might be asked to give evidence at the inquest which might be prejudicial to him at the upcoming trial :

          “Coroner Griffin, who was presiding, explained that all he wanted to question Mr. Mackay on was the actions of the deceased prior to the afternoon of the tragedy. That satisfied the lawyer, and Mr. Mackay was sworn.

          There had been many rumors that Gow and Mackay had been together during the afternoon of Gow’s suicide :

          “ ‘ You were acquainted with the deceased,’ asked the coroner.

          ‘ Yes.’

‘ When did you last see him alive?’

          ‘ Friday morning.’

          ‘ What was his condition?’

‘ I thought I left him in excellent spirits.’

‘ You had breakfast with him?’

‘ Yes.’

‘ Had you any suspicions he contemplated taking his life?’

‘ I knew he was worried for a number of years.’

‘ Do you think his worries could have led to such a condition of despondency which would cause such an act/’

“ I couldn’t say as to that. I knew he was worried for some years.’¹

¹ “Burned His Papers Before Ending Life : Hotel Porter Told of Gow’s Last Actions : Nothing New Was Brought out at Inquest.”

Hamilton Spectator.  March 24, 1914.

          Generally the inquest was anti-climatic. For the most part the evidence given repeated what the reporters with the local newspapers had discovered already.

          One additional item, however, came from Percy Bird, night porter at the Terminal Hotel. Mr. Bird testified that, Friday morning, Mr. Gow summoned him to Room 18. Gow handed the nightporter some papers and ordered that they be burned  in the furnace. Bird had complied with the request.

          It was also put into the record that Gow had not been drinking during the day of his suicide.

          In summoning up the evidence, the coroner charged the jury as follows:

          “It seems to me, gentlemen of the jury, that the deceased, Mr. James N. Gow, had considerable trouble. He appeared in police court on the day preceeding his death, and followed that by a consultation with his lawyers. On Friday morning, he had breakfast, after which he went upstairs and collected some paperswhich he gave to the porter to destroy. From then on, he walked up and down the hall, staying upstairs until 2 o’clock when he went downstairs for dinner. After this he apparently went upstairs, locked the door, drew down the blinds, and to all appearances committed the dreadful deed which caused his death. The housemaid heard him groaning, and notified Mrs. Mullen, who looked over the transom and saw his hand move. He was apparently dying then. Mr. Thomas Mullen then gained entrance to the room and found him dead, sending immediately for the police. The deceased was a right-handed man, and in this manner he severed the principal organs of the right side of his neck. Death was caused by loss of blood. I don’t think you will have any difficulty in arriving at a verdict that death was due to self-inflicted wounds, the result of despondency over financial and other troubles.”²

²“Gow Burned His Letters Before His Suicide : A. B. Mackay Saw His Dead Friend on Morning of Tragedy : Jury Last Night Declared Gow Killed Himself While Despondent.”

          Hamilton Times. March 24, 1914.

          The jury then retired and about ten minutes later, delivered a verdict as the coroner had advised, only adding the following sentence:

 “That no other persons in any way are to be blamed or held responsible.”

1914-03-21aaaa

The remarkable events of the week since James Gow and Adam Mackay had been served with summonses regarding morality charges had provoked comment from every segment of Hamilton society.

         The day after Gow’s suicide, both the Hamilton Times and the Hamilton Spectator published lead editorials on the matter. Both are quoted in full, and shows very different areas to focus upon.

         The Spectator’s editorial was carried under the headline, “A Dreadful Tragedy’ :

         “Yesterday after noon, this city was startled by the news that one of the two prominent businessmen committed for trial on a serious charge had ended his life by cutting his throat.

         “It is to be hoped that the deed was done in a fit of temporary mental aberration, induced by mental strain and a poignant sense of social disgrace. One can hardly admit the possibility of a man in his right mind, with such a load on his conscience tethering himself by an act of self-murder into the presence of his Maker.

         “If death ended all, many a man, overcome by remorse or despair, might reasonably seek oblivion. But even the materialist cannot be sure that death ends all. The ordinary man, though not a Christian, must feel that there is at least a chance that the doctrine of eternal retribution for unforgiven sins may be true.

         “How can anyone in his senses take that route. Many would share the impression that the mere fact of suicide indicates mental derangement.

         The life-story so unhappily ended will carry an object lesson to all who consider it, and specially to young men. Successful in business, enjoying a good position, and well married, this man would seem to have possessed everything required to make him happy, and yet happy he was not. A cankerworm was settled in his heart.

         “When a man feels that he is in moral peril, his best course is to apply what Dr. Chalmers used to call the expulsive power of a new affection. Contemplation of the morally beautiful will bring about an aversion from the morally hideous.

         “The Apostle Paul enjoined a practice in harmony with the latest psychology when he said : ‘Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely; if there be any virtue, and if there be praise, think on these things.’

         “If we become like that which we admire, we should turn our gaze to the infinitely holy One who stooped to become the exemplar and the Saviour of men.”¹

              ¹ “The Gow Tragedy”

         Hamilton Spectator. March 21, 1914.

         The editorial writer with the Hamilton Times to a much more prosaic take on the matter.

         The Times editorial was published under the headline, “The Gow Tragedy” :

         “James Gow, committed to a higher court and out on bail on a scandalous criminal charge, took his own life yesterday afternoon, thus removing himself beyond the power of all earthly courts and ushering his soul into the presence of the High Court of Heaven.

         “The very nature of the crime with which James Gow was charged shocked the community, and the incidents and circumstances leading up to and following the laying of the charge have become an absorbing theme of conversation among the people of Hamilton for several days.

         “The tragedy of yesterday was an additional shock to the citizens, and was as unexpected as it was tragic. His suicide will relieve the courts of the necessity of passing upon his guilt or innocence.

         “No doubt the notoriety which was forced upon him during the past week or so in connection with such an unsavory case, coupled with the fact that he had other troubles, both financial and domestic, preyed upon the mind of the unhappy man so that he preferred to face death rather than face his accusers.

         “There has been a good deal of adverse criticism of the authorities’ determination to hold this trial in secret, not only barring out the public, but also the members of the press.

         “It is out of the usual order of things, and it can only be justified by very strong reasons. Public trial is the right of every accused man or woman, and any other kind looks as if born of despotic rule.

         “But we imagine that Mr. Mackay does not hanker after publicity. Yet the public have rights which should not be lightly ignored.

         “The crown justifies itself in holding this trial in camera by claiming that it could not get the witnesses to testify in public, and besides they wish to protect these girls.

         “The times willingly admits the force of these arguments. These girls are the daughters of poor people, who have as much right to be shielded as any other. They are not charged with any crime. But their very appearance in public in public would bring lasting shame, not only upon themselves, but upon their families.

         “Some of them may have been misguided, and yet not be bad girls, and the Times wishes them to have a chance to live this thing down. Consequently, it makes no demand for an open trial. It expects, however, that the Crown will see to it that a proper report of the proceedings is given to the press as the case proceeds, when it is brought to trial.

         “So far as the accused is concerned, publicity can do no more harm that it has done.

         “There has been some comment at the smallness of the bail asked for the liberty of Gow and Mackay, some saying it was absurdly inadequate in the face of such a charge, and should have been $10,000 instead of $2,000.

         “For James Gow, at least, it would have been better had he been kept in confinement until his trial.”²

              ² “The Gow Tragedy”

         Hamilton Times. March 21, 1914.

         Comment on the Gow suicide extended to the pulpit of many Hamilton churches during the Sunday services of March 22, 1914. The Spectator sent one of its reporters to two services, one in the morning and one in the evening.

         In the morning, the reporter went to the Victoria Avenue Baptist Church where he heard Reverend W. H. Cline’s sermon, titled “The Way of the Transgressor”

         “He referred to Friday’s tragedy, and said it was an object lesson, for there were many in Hamilton who could take a warning from it. The speaker touched on the pathetic side of the case and referred to the dead man’s devotion to his daughter.”³

              ³ “Denounce Suicide : Hamilton Preachers Alluded to Gow Case in Sermons.”

         Hamilton Spectator. March 23, 1914.

         Reverend George H. Williams, pastor of the Centenary Methodist Church, titled his sermon at the evening service, “Thou Shall Not Kill.”

Reverend Williams bluntly labelled Gow’s action a “cowardly crime.” :

“ ‘ If a man by his own actions stains his character, any remarks made about him are true, and no blood can wipe the stains away,’ said the speaker.

“ ‘But when a man is innocent, he takes his life in vindication of his honor, he does a foolish thing. Self-destruction is a base and cowardly crime, and there are men at the present time who, by their riotous living, are committing slow suicide.’ ”³

1914-03-21aa

For the three Hamilton newspapers on Saturday March 21, 1914, the suicide of James Gow was prominent on each of the front pages. The reporters during the previous afternoon and evening hours, had been rushing to learn as much about the incident as possible. Then they each had to write updates for the successive extra editions of their newspapers.

         The Spectator’s efforts were typical of all three newspapers.

         On hearing of the suicide, a reporter rushed from the newspaper’s downtown newsroom to the hotel, then put composed a bulletin which was posted outside the Spectator building, the bulletin immediately being read by a small crowd. With a half hour, an extra edition of the Spectator was printed with only the front page changed to include details of the tragedy as they became known. A second and third extra edition would follow.

         Overnight, there was time to focus and employ their full writing skills to capture the shock and tragedy of the death of James Gow.

         The Spectator reporter’s account was particularly skillful :

         “The suicide at the Terminal Hotel yesterday afternoon of James N. Gow marked another tragic chapter in a sensation that has stirred Hamilton since last Saturday, when the police served the victim and A. B. Mackay, another prominent business man, with summonses charging them with serious offenses against young girls.

         “Dejected and broken-hearted over family and financial trouble, his separation from his wife and daughter and with his honor in question, Gow went to a higher tribunal than the court I which he was committed when he slashed his throat and died almost instantly. The news of his rash act spread like wildfire and caused an even bigger sensation than the bomb that the police exploded when they started the prosecution.”¹

              ¹ “Gow’s Dramatic Death Was Not Unexpected : His Self-Destruction Was Carefully Planned : The Desparate Act of a Dejected Man.”

         Hamilton Spectator.  March 21, 1914

         The Hamilton Times’ reporter also captured the situation well, describing the suicide of James Gow as “the most surprising and fearful of shocks to Hamiltonians” :

         “Although figuring disadvantageously in the investigation into complaints about young girls at the house he owned on Hughson street south, Jas. N. Gow was more the victim of recent developments than the criminal charge itself. Incidental worries so harassed the unfortunate man that hours before his untimely end his dejected appearance was noticed by many.”²

              ² “Awful End of James N. Gow : Man Accused of Immorality Slashes Throat With Razor : Declared That He was ‘All In’ during Morning and in Afternoon Read Report of Suicide of Girl : Adam Mackay Not Surprised When He read Times Extra – A Jury Summoned for an Inquest.”

         Hamilton Times. March 21, 1914.

         At the preliminary hearing into the charges, Gow appeared to be rather calm, even unflappable, concerning his situation. However, after the court was adjourned, and he was sent with Mackay to the police court cells to await their bail applications being granted, Gow seemed to lose his nerve and became very agitated.

         When finally released after posting a $2,000 cash bail, Gow was observed to be shaking like a leaf as he left the police court building.

         Adam Mackay was concerned about his friend’s state of mind, and convinced Gow to not stay at the Hughson street house, but join him at the Terminal hotel where he intended to stay as well.

         Gow went to his Hughson street south home, and under the supervision of the sheriff’s officer on duty, packed some personal belongings in a trunk. According to the bailiff, Gow, in chatting with him, was constantly referring to his daughter – “his little girl” as he repeatedly referred to her.

         Gow also left a sealed letter with the bailiff, asking him to forward it to his daughter when all the contents of the house had been sold.

         Arrangement was made to take the trunk to the Terminal hotel, and so began the last hours of Gow’s existence on this earth.

         The Following is the Spectator’s account of Gow’s Last Day:

         “Arriving there (Terminal Hotel) about 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon, he was given room 18 on the second floor. Mackay also stopped there, and they had a long talk during the evening.

         “They occupied separate rooms, but it is known that Gow rested little during the night. The agitation that he displayed the previous afternoon was even more marked in the morning

         “Hotel attaches say that they heard him in the morning but he did not put in an appearance until shortly after two o’clock in the afternoon. He went straight to the dining room at that time, and employees noticed that his usual smile was missing. He ordered the meal, but ate sparingly, and returned to his room shortly afterwards, where he was again heard nervously pacing up and down the floor of his room.

         “A maid in passing heard a peculiar noise. Alarmed over his actions from the previous afternoon, she suspected something was wrong and immediately notified the proprietor.

“Mrs. Mullens and a relative went to the door and tried to open it, but it refused to yield. She called to the maid to get her something to stand on. A chair was brought, but something higher was required to look over the transom. The maid then brought a table and Mrs. Mullens stood on it.

“She was shocked at the sight she saw. Stretched across the bed, fully dressed, was the body of Gow, his throat almost slit to the ears and his head resting in a pool of blood.

“Mrs. Mullens screamed in terror.

“ ‘This is terrible, terrible,’ she cried.”¹

One of the last people to see Gow alive was Miss Mary Brockbank, a waitress and lady clerk at the Terminal hotel, who was interviews by a Herald reporter :

“Mr. Gow came into the dining room at twenty minutes to two. We close the room at 2 o’clock. There were no other diners so far as I can remember. Mr. Gow ordered tomato soup and a lamb chop.

“I did not think he looked overbright, so I asked him, ‘Are you feeling well today, Mr. Gow?’

“He replied: ‘No, I don’t feel up to much, thanks.’

“All through his scanty meal he seemed very much preoccupied.

“ A moment or so after 2 o’clock, he rose and left the room, saying he would be going out soon. I Saw him go upstairs.”³

³ “Suicide of J.N. Gow Creates Sensation : His Terrible Act Was Evidently Premeditated As He Showed Signs of Mental Distress All Yesterday : A. B. Mackay Said He Was Not Surprised As Gow’s Troubles Had Weighed Heavily Upon Him of Late – Inquest Opened.”

Hamilton Herald March 21, 1914.

On the second floor rotunda of the Terminal Hotel, Gow on his way to his room passed the wife of the hotel proprietor, Mrs. Mullens. She was watching a salesman demonstrate a new carpet cleaner. Mackay interrupted long enough to say quietly to Mrs. Mullens, “I feel miserable.”

Less than an hour later, Mrs. Mullens was again on the rotunda, seated on a sofa. After maid, Lucy Nethcart, heard the noise in Gow’s room, she informed Mrs. Mullens. After peering through the transom over the locked door, Mrs. Mullens called for her brother-in-law, Thomas Mullens. A ladder was found and placed against an outside wall of the hotel. Tom Mullens climbed to the window of Gow’s room. The window was locked but Mullens forced it open, and climbed into the room. After unlocking the door, he went to a telephone to inform the police of what had been discovered.

 

1914-03-21a

Hamilton Deputy Police Chief Whatley carefully inspected Room 18 of the Terminal Hotel where James Gow’s lifeless body had been found.

          A steamer trunk with various personal belongings was opened and its contents gone through. On the chiffonier, a picture of Gow’s daughter had been placed on one side of the mirror, on the other side of the mirror were a pair of tiny wooden shoes – it was later learned that the shoes had been made by Gow’s daughter.

          The police inspection did not take long, and soon the undertaking establishment, Blachford and Company, was telephoned so that the body could be removed from the hotel.

          The crowd on the street had increased substantially by the time the hearse arrived :

          “Outside the hotel, hundreds of morbidly curious spectators congregated to watch the corpse being taken to the morgue. The police formed a lane as the body was brought out of the hotel.”¹

          ¹ “Gow’s Suicide Causes Sensation”

          Hamilton Herald. March 21, 1914

          Almost as soon as news of the tragedy began to circulate, James Gow’s wife was contacted at her home in Buffalo to tell her of the suicide.

          A reporter with a Buffalo newspaper telephoned Mrs. Gow.

          She said to him :

          “ ‘I have just been told of my husband’s death over the long distance telephone by a friend of mine, and naturally, I am greatly shocked.’

“Her voice was shaking with emotion.

          “ ‘ I do not know what I am going to do. I do not know what I should say. I have no comment to make. I really don’t know what to do or think,’ she continued.

          “ ‘ Are you going to Hamilton to attend the funeral?’ asked the reporter.

          “ ‘ I don’t know. I haven’t made up my mind. I really don’t know what to think. It has been such a terrible shock.’

          “ ‘Do you know how your husband died, and have you acquainted your daughter with her father’s death?’ asked the representative.

          “ ‘ Yes, I know the circumstances of my daughter’s death, but I have not told my daughter of them. She does not know that her father has killed himself. I simply told her that he was dead.’ ”³

               ³ “Wife Hears News : Mrs. Gow Greatly Shocked by Husband’s Tragic Death”

          Hamilton Spectator. March 21, 1914

          A coroner’s jury was assembled and each member chosen was instructed to go to the morgue in the evening to inspect the body.

          Also in the evening, a reporter had a long conversation with A. B. Mackay. As Mackay had been staying at the Terminal hotel, the interview was done in a first floor parlor of that hotel, in fact the room where the suicide was almost directly above the men as they talked.

          Mackay freely discussed the case and his friend’s death with no trace of nervousness :

          Throughout the interview, his cheerful attitude remained unchanged, and the only time the smile flitted from his face was when he paid tribute to his dead friend.”²

               ² Mackay Pays Tribute to His Dead Friend : Declares Whiter Man Never Lived Than James Gow : Has Absolutely No Idea of Leaving City.”

          Hamilton Spectator.   March 21, 1914.

          Mackay’s statement follows :

          “In the death of James Gow, Hamilton loses a white man – as white a man as was ever born or lived in this city, and I lose a good friend, as loyal a friend as a man could have. He was a man with a big heart; a man who never tuned a fellow down; who, if he met one who was down and out, would give him the last cent he had.

          “The people of Hamilton didn’t understand Jim Cow. He was generous to a degree, and it was his great big heart that caused him all the trouble he ever had. No man ever heard Jim Gow say a word against his worst enemy. He is dead and gone, and only those who really knew him can appreciate him for what he was worth.”²

               Mackay asked the newspaper man what opinions Hamiltonians were sharing about the suicide of Gow :

“He was told the general feeling was that Gow feared to face his trial, and that his death was the result of the charges pending against him.

“ ‘ Jim’s death was due to financial and family troubles,’ was the reply. ‘He had worries that the public knew nothing about.’ ”²

Mackay also asked about the view that the public had concerning the matter for which he and Gow had been sent to trial:

“He was told that many people thought he was preparing to leave the city. This suggestion he dismissed with a smile.

          “ ‘There is no reason for anyone to fear that,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to discuss anything that has a bearing on the case, but you can announce most emphatically that I will be on the job when the case is called. I have too much at stake financially in this city even if I had ever given such a thing as flight a thought. I have a big office building here, and twenty-two houses, besides other interests. If I went across the border, to the old country or any other place, I could be brought back, and it would be accepted as an acknowledgement of guilt. I have never thought of such a silly thing as running away. Only one side of the story has been told. I put in no defense at the preliminary hearing.’ ”²