DOCSLIB.ORG

The Administration of Relief to the Unemployed in Vancouver During

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Administration of Relief to the Unemployed in Vancouver During THE FDFINXSTMTION OF RELIEF TO THE LWEWLOYED IN VANCOUVER DUPING THE GREAT DEPRESSION John Douglas Eelshaw B.A.(Hons.), University sf ~ritishColumbia, 1979 THESIS SUE&!ITTED IF PARTIAL FULFILLPENT OF THE REQUIREPENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Departpent History . - @ John Douglps Belshaw 1982 SIPON FRASER UNIVERSf TY August 1982 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, withaut permission of the author. APPROVAL 7 Ncme: John Douglas Belshaw Degree; Easter of Arts Title of thesis: The Administration of Relief to the * Unemployed in Vancouver During the Great Depression ~xaminingCommittee: Cheirperson: C, R, Dey RO*FisherT Senior Supervisor 1. .r t -- -. ~obert\pj J, McDonald T External Examiner Assistant Professor Department of History University of British Columbia Date Approved: 16 August, 1982 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis or dissertation (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its 'own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my writ ten permission. Author : . - - (signature ) --.. 30~5.\+">& icw (name > 16 ~~UT(Ti?% (date ) ABSTRACT Unemployment in Vancouver, Canadz, during the Great Depression posed a significant threat' to the continuation of political and social norm. The emergence of a large body of workers --- -- . - - - ---- without- - jobs, many of whom could vote at the civic level, demanded the attention and intervention of private and governme-nt agencies, The response of the City of Varcouver and two major Christian denominations to the unemployment crisis is the subject of this thesis, The documentary evidence utilized came mainly from collections at the Vancouver School of Theology, the Catholic Charities and the City of Vancouver Archives. The inadequacy and abuse of contemporary statistical resources perpetuated a view of the unemployed that e~phasizod their potential for social disruption. Despite the fact that most of Vancouver's jobless citizens were permanent residents, community leaders and rglief planners took their cues from the single unemployed transients, a group that was pore likely to demonstrate hostility to the status quo. The main objective of relief programes through the 1930s soon came to be, therefore, social control, The United Church and the Romn Catholic --..- " - Archdiocese, concerned by a general decline in church attendance and the anti-church rhetoric of left-wing agitators among the unempzoyed, escalated their spiritual and worldly services to the poor. The civic administration, equally perturbed by the proliferation of demonstrations and protest marches, attempted iii to derail revolutionary ideas with an extension of its limited relief programmes, However, both church and state were constrained by the shortage of money. Consequently, in the absence of a strong social work ideology, relief was more a reffe- scal considerations than of the shifting needs of the unemployed.-- Relief was, simply put, the least- - expensive means of reintegrating the dispossessed into the established social milieu. DEDICATION To my father. ACKNOFLTLE DGEYEW'TS The completion of this thesis wzs greatly assisted by the professional, personal and financial support provided by several individuals and the Department of History at Simon Fraser University, The Cook Conference Scholarship, the Leon 3, Ladner Schofarship, teaching assistantships, the President's Research Stipend and computer moneys --- all of which came to me through the History Department --- have been real boons for which I cannot express sufficient gratitude. The staffs at the Provincial Archives of British Columbia, Special Collections at the University of E.C., the Vancouver School of Theology, and the Catholic Charities Archives were all liberal with their time and their expertise. A special vote of thanks is due to Pzul Yee, Sue Eaptee, and the rest of the crew at the City of Vancouver Archives, Their insights and patience were a constant source of pleasure. Finally, the contributions of friends, fellow graduate students, 2nd my senior supervisor, Professor Robin Fisher, must be recognized, They Kay be assured thzt the debt has been duly noted. TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval .............................................,...*...ii Abstract ..................................................... Dedication .........v~................I.~..,....~..,~...,.~....v Acknowledgements .................................v...........vi List of Figures ............................................viii Abbreviations ......,...,,...........................,...ee.eeix V- The Civic Response to Unmpl oymen t ..................87 LIST OF FIGURE7S FIGURE PAGE k 1II:l Age Distribution of the Unemployed ...................... III:2 Nationalities of the Unemployed. 193C-1932 ............33 III:3 Houses. Suites and Parriages. Vancouver. 1929-1935 ..................................... 42 IIf:4 Suicides and Homicides in Vancouver. 1929-1939 .....*...................*.........................44 1V:l Welfare Department Budget. First United Church. 1929-1939 ......................................... 62 IV:2 Sore Declared Re1igious Affiliations in Vzncouver. 1921-1941 ......................*ee.....75 IV:3 Attendance Levels. First United Church. Vancouver. 1929-1939 ..............................79 IV:4 Attendance Levels. First United Church. Vancouver. 1929-1939 ...................,,......*.. 79 1V:S Marriages and Births. Vancouver. 1928-1939 ............81 IV:6 Parriages and Births. Vancouver. 1928-1939 ............82 &p V:l Costs of Relief. Civic and Provincial. 1930-1935 ..........................................98 -d V:2 Average Weekly ICndustrial Wage for Aduft Hales in B.C. ..........................................120 V: 3 Average Costs of Selected Staple Goods. October 1932 ..........................................* *. 120 V:4 Relief Caseloads .....................................121 viii ABBREVIATIONS The following abbreviations are used throughout this paper: CVA: City of Vancouver Archives, Vancouver, British Colpmbia. PABC: Provincial Archives of British Columbia. UCA: United Church Archives, Vancouver School of Theology. CCA: Catholic Charities Archives, Archdiocese of Vancouver. UBCL: University of British Columbia Library. MSS: Manuscripts. TS: Typescript. I, Introduction To amend an old adage, the poor are always witk us, but in varying degrees. During the 1930s their number seerod to increase exponentially in the wake of the Val1 Street crash, In Canada, as throughout much of the industrialized world, one consequence was a crisis in the provision of assistance and social services to the desititute and jobless. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, traditional philanthropic agencies had become circumscribed in the range of their activities by the growing involvement of governments in the sphere of social welfare provision. However, neither private nor public sector could hope to meet the burgeoni~gdemnd for unemployment relief in the depression; it wes 3oubtful they could do so even through combined efforts. Unernpleyment relief in Vancouver, Canada, was tezper~dby anxieties over political and social unrest. To be sure, discontent of equally serious proportions could as easily arise out of profligate spending on welfare projects. Churches with shrinking congregations and correspondingly deflated coffers dared not ignore this fiscal imperative. Aldermen found themselves in a similar predicament as they contemplated the corollary of increased civic expenditures, namely, bigher taxes. Though primarily a means of social control, relief to the unemployed was rigidly constrained by the cash nexus, The actual needs of the jobless Vancouverites were consulted only when they coincided or diverged radically from the priorities set by relief administrators in conjunction with their auflitors. _ v-'aL I,..-W~ FFr)l)~wr '.C, ./.lr.i &.\I i46(_lI $27 ,' aid and work relief were the ccbos avzilable, Scholarship on unemployment relief in Canada has tended towards fragmented analysis. Few historians have endeavoured to paint a conyrehensive picture of the nature and extent of unemployment assistance prior to 1940. Some historians writing on Vancouver, like Diane Patters and John Taylor, have focussed their attention on the public sector response to joblessness, almost completely excludicg any private sector efforts in their studies. James Struthers, by way of contrast, has coherently tied together the private and public sectors but really only at the Dominion level. If Struthers can be criticized at all it must be for his rather two-dimensional interpretation of the Canadian political milieu, in tbat it neglects the influences of i municipal interests and the personalities of Provincial premiers. Frances Fox Piven and Richard A, Cloward, two Amrican schclars, have e~deavouredto re-interpret welfare and unemployment relief as integral elements in government's arsonal of social controls. They describe relief programmes as trade-offs between disgruntled workers on the one hand
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Impact of Progressive Education on Roman Catholic
    THE IMPACT OF PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION ON ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF VANCOUVER: 1924 – 1960 by Katie Gemmell B.A., The University of British Columbia, 2005 B.Ed., Trinity Western University, 2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Curriculum Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2014 © Katie Gemmell, 2014 Abstract Between the early 1920s and 1960, Catholic schools in the Vancouver Archdiocese grew considerably from an assortment of independently operated private and parochial schools to a centralized diocesan system with over three-dozen schools. In the same time period, public education underwent significant changes with the introduction of progressive education, first with the Survey of the School System (Putman Weir Report) (1925) and later with the provincial curriculum revisions of 1936 and 1937. In 1960, the provincial Report of the Royal Commission on Education signalled a change in direction toward a new discipline-based approach to education. Very few historical studies have examined Catholic schooling in British Columbia, nor its relation to broader educational trends. This study used archival research to examine the influence of progressive education on the curriculum, pedagogy, and philosophy in Vancouver’s Catholic schools. Without government funding, Catholic educational leaders in this period were seeking to raise academic standards and demonstrate the legitimacy and necessity of Catholic schooling. The vast majority of Catholic schoolteachers were religious sisters who had devoted their lives to the spread of Catholic Christianity and the education of children. While they were willing to implement progressive methods and curriculum, Catholic schoolteachers and administrators were unwilling to compromise their philosophy of education, which was rooted in an understanding of the human person as both material and spiritual.
    [Show full text]
  • Missionization and Sḵwxwú7mesh ̱ Political Economy, 1864-1923
    Missionization and Sḵwxwú7mesẖ Political Economy, 1864-1923 by Sean Wilkinson B.A. (History & Economics), Simon Fraser University, 2009 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Wilkinson 2013 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2013 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/) Approval Name: Sean Wilkinson Degree: Master of Arts (History) Title of Thesis: Missionization and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Political Economy, 1864-1923 Examining Committee: Chair: Jay Taylor, Professor Mary-Ellen Kelm Senior Supervisor Professor J.I. Little Co-Supervisor Professor Rudy Reimer/Yumḵs Internal Examiner Assistant Professor Date Defended/Approved: 17 January 2012 ii Abstract This thesis describes the relationship between Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-speaking people of present-day North Vancouver and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the period between 1864 and 1923. It presents the argument that the mission that the Oblates and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh mutually founded in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh settlement of Eslhá7an (in present-day North Vancouver) was the most significant point of cultural contact between Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and non-native people during this period. Reading Sḵwx̱wú7mesh history during this period as primarily a story of responses to colonization, it argues that some of the most important Sḵwx̱wú7mesh political and diplomatic strategies, including external strategies of resistance and accommodation as well as internal strategies of political economy, were linked to trans-cultural experiences centred at Eslhá7an. It concludes by suggesting that the emergence of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh nationalism, culminating in the establishment of the modern Squamish Nation, may have been driven by these Eslhá7an-based political strategies.
    [Show full text]
  • Tome Cinquante Neuf / 1 Volume Fifty Nin2 / 1 2000
    VIE OBLATE LIFE TOME CINQUANTE NEUF / 1 VOLUME FIFTY NIN2 / 1 2000 OTTAWA, CANADA Fortuné de Mazenod à la maison des Missionnaires d’Aix Comportements et convictions (1818-1823) SUMMARY: Just a few days after his arrival in France, Fortuné de Mazenod installed himself in the house of the Missionaries of Provence, at Aix. Where he dwelled for more then five years. Thanks to the correspondence 1, where we have drawn the previous article we can penetrate in the intimacy of a man who owes a great deal to his nephew Eugene, but from whom in return, the latter has much received. The matter of concern was much more then simple family ties. We are faced before a fabric of complex social, political and religious situation by which we have not yet finished identifying all the elements. We resolutely place ourselves in Fortuné’s point of view, as we pause to consider the way he has adapted to his new life, to his preoccupations for his brothers, to his financial problems, to his involvement in his political and religious ideas. We are reckoning on a comeback of Eugene’s portrait to bring out the exchanges between the uncle and the father of the future saint. Quelques jours à peine après son arrivée en France, Fortuné de Mazenod s’installait à la maison des Missionnaires de Provence, à Aix, où il habitera pendant plus de cinq ans. Grâce à la correspondance où nous avons puisé pour le précédent article, nous pouvons pénétrer dans l’intimité d’un homme qui doit beaucoup à son neveu Eugène mais dont celui-ci, à son tour, a beaucoup reçu.
    [Show full text]
  • VHS June 09Plusinsert.Indd
    Vancouver Historical Society NEWSLETTER ISSN 0042 - 2487 Vol. 48 No. 9 June 2009 Summer Field Trips: Scalpels and Sins One of the most unique museums in and can’t make it, we will then go to tory. The Museum collects objects, Vancouver opens its doors to VHS our reserve list. Please call the VHS photographs and archival materials members as part of our summer field Info-Line (604-878-9140) to put your related to the history of policing in trip series. The Bowmer-Shoebotham name on the reserve list. Vancouver and the forensic sciences. Museum of Military Medicine — open Objects in the museum date from the only by appointment — will host VHS For our second summer field trip, there 1870s to the present day. members (who have signed up) for a are still a few spaces available for the free tour on Monday, July 20 at 10:00 Vancouver Police Museum’s “Sins of the City” walking tour, on Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 10:00am. This tour is free for members of the VHS but limited in the number of people we can accommodate. Learn about vice in the early days while exploring some of the oldest parts of the city. Our guide will regale us with stories about bootleggers, prohibition, and the often-quirky evolution of liquor laws (and their enforcement); the develop- ment of the early drug trade and the surprising origins of Canada’s narcotic laws; racial and labour tension boiling over into demonstrations, riots, and To reserve your space, please call murder; the evolution of the sex trade, the VHS Info-Line (604-878-9140) from brothels to streetwalkers; and before July 31, 2009.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Progressive Education on Roman Catholic
    THE IMPACT OF PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION ON ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF VANCOUVER: 1924 – 1960 by Katie Gemmell B.A., The University of British Columbia, 2005 B.Ed., Trinity Western University, 2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Curriculum Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2014 © Katie Gemmell, 2014 Abstract Between the early 1920s and 1960, Catholic schools in the Vancouver Archdiocese grew considerably from an assortment of independently operated private and parochial schools to a centralized diocesan system with over three-dozen schools. In the same time period, public education underwent significant changes with the introduction of progressive education, first with the Survey of the School System (Putman Weir Report) (1925) and later with the provincial curriculum revisions of 1936 and 1937. In 1960, the provincial Report of the Royal Commission on Education signalled a change in direction toward a new discipline-based approach to education. Very few historical studies have examined Catholic schooling in British Columbia, nor its relation to broader educational trends. This study used archival research to examine the influence of progressive education on the curriculum, pedagogy, and philosophy in Vancouver’s Catholic schools. Without government funding, Catholic educational leaders in this period were seeking to raise academic standards and demonstrate the legitimacy and necessity of Catholic schooling. The vast majority of Catholic schoolteachers were religious sisters who had devoted their lives to the spread of Catholic Christianity and the education of children. While they were willing to implement progressive methods and curriculum, Catholic schoolteachers and administrators were unwilling to compromise their philosophy of education, which was rooted in an understanding of the human person as both material and spiritual.
    [Show full text]
  • Catholic Directory Published by the RCAV Vancouver
    Catholic Directory published by the RCAV Vancouver Bishop MOST REVEREND J. MICHAEL MILLER, CSB Archbishop of Vancouver Appointed Archbishop of Vancouver: Jan 2, 2009 Ordained priest: June 29, 1975 Episcopal Ordination: January 12, 2004 Past Bishops Rt. Rev. Louis-Joseph d’Herbomez, OMI, 1864-1890 Rt. Rev. Paul Durieu, OMI, 1890-1899 Most Rev. Augustine Dontenwill, OMI, 1899-1908 Most Rev. Neil McNeil, 1910-1912 Most Rev. Timothy Casey, 1912-1931 Most Rev. William Mark Duke, 1931-1964 Most Rev. Martin Johnson, 1964-1969 Most Rev. James F. Carney, 1969-1990 Most Rev. Adam Exner, OMI, 1991-2004 Most Rev. Raymond Roussin, SM, 2004-2009 Parish and Mass Finder Archdiocesan Offices Archdiocesan Directors and Officers Archivist: Jennifer Sargent B.C. Catholic Editor: Paul Schratz Building Commission Chair: Very Rev. Stanley Galvon Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Vancouver Director: Peter Nobes Catholic Schools Superintendent: Deacon Henk Luyten Catechetics Director: Clayton Imoo Communications Senior Director: Makani Marquis Delegate for Development and Ministries: Brett Powell Director of Development: Chris Ufford Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations Coordinator: Deacon Richard Chau Finance Council Chair:Most Rev. J. Michael Miller, CSB Vice-Chair: Very Rev. Gary Franken Finance Director: Sean O'Brien First Nations Ministry Coordinator: Deacon Rennie Nahanee Human Resources Director: Marisa Ruggier-Andrews Life, Marriage and Family Program Specialist: Sister John Mary Sullivan, FSE Director of Liturgy: Rev. Tien Tran Matrimonial Curia (Administrative Cases): Rev. Joseph Thoai Le, JCL Defender of the Bond: Rev. Francis Galvan, OSA Rev. Mark Gazin, CSB Rev. Joseph Thoai Le Rev. Pablo Santa Maria Missions Director: Barbara Dowding Permanent Diaconate Director: Rev.
    [Show full text]
  • Let Us Act! Summary
    LET US ACT! SUMMARY Key Synod propositions have been judged worthy and appropriate. Not all 50 propositions can be acted upon immediately. Archdiocese to implement the 20 top-ranked propositions by January 1, 2007. New archdiocesan offices for Evangelization, Liturgy, and Service and Justice. New archdiocesan strategy for Adult Faith Formation. Remaining propositions requiring arch- diocesan action to be studied annually by central offices and incorporated into long-term planning. Propositions dealing with parish life to be studied as part of a pastoral planning process in each parish. Each parish to have a pastoral plan in place by September 2007. LET US ACT! Declaration on the Fourth Synod of the Archdiocese of Vancouver “WHEN I PLACE BEFORE YOU A VISION TO BE MORE THAN EVER A REFLECTION OF JESUS CHRIST IN ALL WE ARE, DO, AND SAY, IT IS SIMPLY A CALL TO HOLINESS OF LIFE!” DECLARATION ON THE ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD activity was the need to respect its natural bound- DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST, aries—to deal only with matters capable of being Soon after I arrived in Vancouver, I was told that the decided or altered at the diocesan level. Archdiocese had just finished a diocesan Synod. At The members of the Synod truly represented our first I felt somewhat apprehensive, not having taken diverse and multicultural community, which has been part in its proceedings. But once I read and reflected enriched by a wave of immigration.All sectors of our on the Synod’s work, my apprehension disappeared Archdiocese participated—high school students, sen- and I felt only enthusiasm.
    [Show full text]
  • Dr. Jacqueline Gresko
    Vancouver Historical Society NEWSLETTER ISSN 0042 - 2487 Vol. 48 No. 8 May 2009 The History of the Archdiocese of Vancouver May Speaker: Dr. Jacqueline Gresko This presentation on the history of values networks, clergy, and religious the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of orders. They promoted the building of Vancouver is based on research for Catholic institutions – schools, hos- Traditions of Faith and Service, the pitals, organizations – and especially recently published archdiocese centen- post-secondary education, a seminary nial history book. and a university. Images from the 1953 BC Catholic newspaper special issue Pioneer French and Irish priests found- on the 50th anniversary of Holy Rosary ed missions, parishes and schools in the Cathedral illustrate the contribution of late-nineteenth century. First Nations, the Maritime Archbishops, especially Canadians, Americans, Europeans and William Mark Duke, who led the Arch- Asians contributed to traditions of faith diocese from 1931 to 1964. May speaker Jacqueline Gresko and service in the city. The twentieth the Commission and Douglas and century Archbishops from the Mari- Jacqueline Gresko has taught at Doug- Kwantlen students, culminating in the times -- Neil McNeil, Timothy Casey las College since it opened in 1970. publication of Fraser Port: A History and William Mark Duke – gave new di- She has designed and taught Cana- in 1986. rection to Vancouver’s Roman Catholic dian, American and Women’s History community. The three maritime Arch- courses. She was the elected Chair of Dr. Gresko, born and brought up in bishops brought Anglo-Canadian ideas, Arts and Humanities, 1988-1991. She New Westminster, attended the Uni- has served on a versity of British Columbia where she wide range of received a BA Honours in History in College com- 1969.
    [Show full text]