THE ROLE OF ANGLICANS IN REFORM OF THE ECONOMIC ORDER IN CANADA 191*f-19^-5 by Edward Alfred Pulker Thesis presented to the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Ottawa as partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy *^:v *r> \ ^a^ajgy > L.OKA . , . V8/Jy ol o^ Ottawa, Canada, 1973 (C) Edward Alfred Pulker, Ottawa, 1974. UMI Number DC53516 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform DC53516 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis was prepared under the supervision of Professor Joseph Levitt, Ph.D., of the Department of History of the University of Ottawa. The writer is indebted to members of the staff of the National Library and the National Archives, Ottawa, to the Reverend Professor T. R. Millman and Mrs. Millman of the Anglican Church Archives, Toronto, for their co-operation in making available much of the research material used in the preparation of this thesis, and to Professor Frank R. Scott for making available the papers of his father, the late Archdeacon F. G. Scott. The writer is also grateful to the Canada Council for the financial help provided while this study was being prepared. CURRICULUM STUD10RUM Edward Alfred Pulker was born August 21, 1916, in Belleville, Ontario. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 19^0. He graduated in Divinity from Trinity College, Toronto, in 19*+2, and received the Bachelor of Divinity degree from Trinity College in 19^7. He received the Master of Arts degree in History from the University of Ottawa in 1966. The title of his thesis was Augustin Bonnetty Considered as a Reconciler of Science and Religion lo^O-lS^O. He received the Bachelor of Education degree from Queen's University, Kingston, in 1971. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter page ABSTRACT vii INTRODUCTION 1 I. ANGLICANS AS CONSERVATIVE REFORMERS lk II. THE BRITISH INFLUENCE 32 III. THE CANADIAN BACKGROUND 57 IV. WARTIME IDEALISM 191l*-19l8. I: ANGLICAN CONDEMNA­ TION OF LAISSEZ-FAIRE CAPITALISM 73 V. WARTIME IDEALISM 191^-1918. II: ANGLICANS AND LABOUR 95 VI. BETWEEN WAR AND DEPRESSION. I: FURTHER ATTACKS ON LAISSEZ-FAIRE CAPITALISM Ill VII. BETWEEN WAR AND DEPRESSION. II: THE RISE AND DECLINE OF CONCERN FOR LABOUR 128 VIII. THE GREAT DEPRESSION. I: THE "OFFICIAL" CHURCH AND CAPITALISM 152 IX. THE GREAT DEPRESSION. II: THE "UNOFFICIAL" CHURCH AND CAPITALISM 177 X. THE GREAT DEPRESSION. Ill: SOCIAL SECURITY, RELIEF, AND PUBLIC WORKS 197 XI. THE GREAT DEPRESSION. IV. LABOUR AND UNEMPLOYMENT 222 XII. THE SECOND WORLD WAR. I: THE DEMAND FOR A NEW ECONOMIC ORDER 233 XIII. THE SECOND WORLD WAR. II; ANGLICAN SUPPORT FOR SOCIAL SECURITY 263 XIV. THE CHURCH AND LABOUR 1939-19^6 277 XV. POST-WAR POLARIZATION 291 XVI. A COMPARISON OF ANGLICAN AND METHODIST-UNITED CHURCHES ON SOCIAL-ECONOMIC REFORM 310 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 328 TABLE OF CONTENTS v Appendix page A. CHURCH ORGANIZATION 3*+5 B. THE OWNERSHIP OF THE CANADIAN CHURCHMAN 350 C. CANON SCOTT'S INVOLVEMENT IN SOCIAL ISSUES .... 356 D. EXTRACTS FROM THE HOPE OF A NEW WORLD BY WILLIAM TEMPLE 386 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 391 ABBREVIATIONS ACA - Anglican Church Archives AFSA - Anglican Fellowship for Social Action BESCO - British Empire Steel Corporation CC - Canadian Churchman CCF - Co-operative Commonwealth Federation CHR - Canadian Historical Review CIO - Committee for Industrial Organization CJEPS - Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science CSS - The Council for Social Service of the Church of England in Canada CSU - Christian Social Union DCSS - Diocesan Council for Social Service GSJP - General Synod of the Church of England in Canada Journal of Proceedings SSC - The Social Service Council of Canada ABSTRACT OF The Role of Anglicans in Reform of the Economic Order in Canada 191^-19^5 This thesis holds that between 191^ and 19*+5 a number of Canadian Anglicans contributed to the demand for reform of the economic order. In so doing these Anglicans followed conservative principles. Their approach to reform was three­ fold in that they condemned the operation of laissez-faire capitalism; they gave increasing support to the adoption of social security measures; and they advocated collective bargaining for labour, as well as legislation to improve hours of work, wages, and working conditions. These Canadian Anglicans received inspiration from the efforts for reform on the part of members of the Church of England both of the nineteenth century and of the 191l+-1+5 period. Before the First World War the Anglican Church joined with other Protestant churches in working for social reforms in Canada. To speak for them on such issues as prohibition, these churches established official committees. They also co-operated to form the Social Service Council of Canada, through which they worked together for social reforms. The first serious efforts by Canadian Anglicans to support reform of the economic order came during the Great War of 191^-18. In 1915 the Church established the Council ABSTRACT viii for Social Service with the responsibility to seek just con­ ditions of living and to promote a Christian public opinion on social problems. During the war a number of prominent churchmen condemned laissez-faire capitalism and called for its reform; they also supported measures to benefit working people. The interest in reform carried over into the post­ war years and then, with increasing prosperity in the 1920s, gradually declined. The onset of the Great Depression revived Anglican interest in economic reform. Although General Synod was loath to condemn capitalism, this body did stress the obliga­ tion of government to provide relief and public works to alleviate distress in the 1930s. The Council for Social Service urged the government to undertake economic research and to adopt a plan of unemployment insurance. Some individual church members supported socialism, and several provided leadership in the new Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. In some places churchmen strove to persuade governments to adopt programmes of slum clearance and housing. During the depression Anglicans neglected the interests of labour unions. However, churchmen showed concern over unemployment and advocated a return to the land as a method by which destitute families might cope with unemployment. During the Second World War the initiative for reform came from Great Britain. There the Malvern Conference ABSTRACT ix and the statements of Archbishop Temple and other church leaders aroused interest in the nature of the post-war society. Malvern and Temple had a similar effect on reform- minded Canadian Anglicans. However, because Canadian church leaders were slow to attack specific evils and to support specific reforms, unofficial groups tried to prod the Church into giving stronger leadership in support of reform. There were also certain Anglicans who resisted the demand for change and supported retention of the status quo. With the publication of the British Beveridge report on social insurances, social security quickly won support in Canada as a method for reforming the economic order. Many Anglicans, including Canon Judd of the CSS, supported social security for Canadians, and the General Synod of 19^3 endorsed the adoption of a programme of social security. To these Anglicans social security seemed the answer to the twin problems of social injustice and economic depressions. The Second World War also revived Anglican interest in industrial workers. One aspect of this interest was the industrial chaplaincy of S. W. Semple. More far-reaching was the support of the CSS for compulsory collective bargain­ ing and the official support of the General Synod of 19^6 for the decisions of Mr. Justice Rand in the case of the CIO strike against Ford of Canada in 19^5-^6. ABSTRACT x In the post-war period some activist Anglicans con­ tinued to press for even further reform of the economic order. One group founded the Anglican Outlook, a journal which soon became critical of the caution of the official church on economic issues. A Montreal group, the Anglican Fellowship for Social Action, aroused opposition from both moderate reformers as well as Anglican supporters of the status quo. An AFSA group in Nova Scotia aroused similar opposition in that diocese. This study has also compared the roles of the Anglican and Methodist-United Churches in supporting economic reform between 191^ and 19^5• It has concluded that the difference in their roles was not as significant as some scholars have suggested. During the 1930s and particularly during the Second World War the Anglican and United Churches became more alike in that they supported the same reform measures. In conclusion this study claims that Anglicans, as conservative reformers, played a constructive role in support of reform of the economic order in Canada. INTRODUCTION This study is concerned with the ideas and activities of certain Canadian Anglicans who became involved in the reform of the economic order in Canada in the period from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. Its thesis is that, contrary to the popular belief that Anglicans, apart from a few "left-wingers," showed little interest in social and economic issues, many prominent churchmen in fact shared both in the concern of other reform- minded Canadians with the evils associated with laissez-faire capitalism and also in their efforts to mitigate those evils.