- --& CANADIAN f HESES T~~ESESCANADIENNES NOTICE Tne a~a.~:,of tr;~cnicroflche is heavily Ofix*Cent me ia quail!& cle cene mcrofmedepend gracdement de la quatrlb q:ati!y of TE orqlna thess subrnlt!ed fcr ~lc-cjfvlng Everj ae la thkSe suumlse ad mtrof~lmageNous avons tout fart pour effm pas j~qTa& tG ensure the h gws! q&:j of rewccdx- assurer une qtlalite s~&rre~rede reproduction t10n ~~SSIDE If pages are m~sngcontact the universlly wnch granred the S'li manque des pages vw~tiezcommuntquer pvec t'unrver- degree st& qul a conf6rk te grade Some oages .ray vide lndistlnct print esmla f me origi.ial La quahte d'lmpresstor de cenalnes pages peut laisser pages Here rjmwrm a poor typewr !H raten ~b the unlver- dksrrer, surtout sl !PE paw orgnaks cxlr elk dactylographt&s sty sent JS an ~lfer~orpnotmpy p a& d'un rum -JS& oti st ' untvwstte nous a tall parvmtr me photocope de aualrte infCrteure 1 Pre.m~si rQDy+~gntedmaterrais @drra+ a? c es od~lsnw ies docyments aui font @]A lobjet d'un dro~td'auteur (art~cles tesrs P!C I a:e GO! fiirnm de revue, examens pubhes, etc 1 ne son1 pas mlcrof~tmBs. La reproduction rnhepartielk de ce mcrohlm est sournise 4 la Lot canadtenne sur le droh d'auteur. SRC 1970, c.. C-30. THIS DiSSERTATION HAS BEEN M~CROFI~MED MICROFI~MEE TEW QUE EXACTLY AS RECElVED VETERAVS' GROUPS IN VANCOUVER, 1919-1922. -.BY b. 2--. :.zzsez,. .hne Lees - ) 0.i. Sln~niraser University, 1983. 3 THESIS SSEYZTTD IN PkftTIliL FULFILLMENT 3F THE - FZE$C;L'IRE-LIENTS F3R THE DEGREE 3r" in the Department Iii story A11 rlghts reserved. This thesis may not be r, repr~duzedi-i iihgIe 3r in part, by ph?to~opy tir ~therneazs, witbut permission of the author. i'autorlsatlon a GtZ accoraPe a la Brollotr.E;;te catloqale . : Csnaca se z~crofzinsr zetce tnese et zk ?rOter ou ae vendre 2e-s exeni)lalres cu f ;lm. Lrauteur i tl+_,;,arre 3~ drolt z'autezr) se rgserve les aitres ar3lts ze +sllcatlon; -11 la tnEse r.: ze l~ngs extrai'ts . ce' ce1le-cr ne colvent- Stre ;mpr~rnPs ou 2-crement reFr2zults sans SOP aUt3rl9at10s Pcrrte. APPROVAL i 1 %. %. Same: Elizabeth Anne Lee.s Degree: Y.A. '? . Title of thesis : Problerns of ~acifiEation: i-eterans' ~roup's' ' 1 in I'ancouve.~,1919-1922 -* / -"* Examining Cgmrittee: J. Little, Chairran i 1 z . Strong-Boag, Superirisory mvittee ,/ = ; \ -2.'. -\ u u '. - k. Flsher,,&apervisory Committee 'mn3txtenal Examiner, Professor, Political Science Department, Sicon Fraser University I I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, projecr or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to uzers of the Sinan Fraser Univepy Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the 1iccary ot,any,o~%er,irtiuersity, or other educationat institution, on its awn beha l f!or Tor sne of its users. I further agree that permission 1 * for rrbltiple cppy:?g aF ?+is work for scholarly purposes may be granted by ne ir the $an s4 ~radurteStudies. It is understood that copyTng or 3uCl icatioq of t*.:s Lor& for f i~ncikigain shal l npt be allowed I without my writte~permission, F& - > TitI e of Thes i ~/~r~i;ect/Exten3edEssay&i, -' . "Problems of Pacification: Veterans' Groups in ~ancouver, 1515-1522" iii ABSTRACT \ As the Great War 'ended Canada's* returning ,soldiers .had \ e 7. \ high hopes for social change.- Many env.isioned a ,united C ' \ ve teransl movement, calling on the Federal Government to' \ reorganize the economy in orderL- to serve the needs of the-many t rather thh the 'interests of the few. The dream quickly faded \' as veterans faced the General Strikes of 1919 and the . I unemployment crisis of 1920-1922. Meanwhile 'the economy continued ''on its familiar bobm and bust course, offering it2 \ I lrnfortunate human victims 0.~1~-the barest minumum of social programmes. This thesis describes those ve teransl groups active in ~ancou8krdurin~the 1919-1922 period. The focus is on the politics of early veteranst organizations and thkir inieraction with the labour movement. Among other sources;' the study relies on information from the official documents of the associations, military intelligence reports and newspapers., Re turned servicemen were far Yrom .united. The largest' Vancouver group, the Great War Veterans' Association, was -- ~~-3iny-one of many' organizations. Several large pro-labour A - veteransr grgups were also active in the city. The GWVA, controlled by' a &nservat iva faction, opposed the Vancouver I Gene'ral Strike. Other groups supported it'. Most of the rank and file seem to have beem ambivalent. After the strike veterans w,ere further fragmented as the GWVA lost many of i'ts members to the Grand Army of United Veterans, a more ' politically oriented group, which demanded a cash {bonus for ex-servicemen. By December 1920, the first toime that the , veterans were able to take part in a British Columbia 1 provincial.elect"ion, it was clear that the lobbying tactics of the GWA had.failed. *The GAUV made several attemp'ts to form.. '. s soldier(labour/f armer political alliances, but the few that I A' A' were formed were unsuccessful at the polls. In the i unemployment crisis ctf 1920-22 the absence of a united s veterans' movement allowed all levels of government to avoid P responsibility for the jobless ex-serviceman. Some of the unempioyed, di sillusioned by their treatment, turned to , radical organizations suc)l-as the Canadian ~itionalUnion of ' ,-- Ex-Servicemen, which used confrontation to draw attention to their plight. By this time the idea of a broadly based veterans' movement had become just a memory. 4 In shot and shell I have been free 'Tis peace' that's Hell Oh God! Help Me. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thanks to Allen Seager for his direction of the research and writing of this thesis, and to veronica Strong Boag and Robin Fisher for their guidance. I would like to ' v acknowledge the helpF _of George Brandak; at Special Collectlons - - - at the University of British Columbia, Pat Dunae at the Public Archives of British Columbia and Glen Wright at the PubL'ic .~rchivesof Canada,- for their assistance. I thank the W.S. Ewart Foundation, the Cook Conference, the Leon S. Ladner (r Scholarship for their financial help. ~lsothe Simon Fraser University Senate for two Graduate Research Fellowships. My serious interest in history began at Capilano College; I thank Harlene, Legates, for her insighfs and interest during the time I spent there. Finally I would like to express my warm appreciation of my friends? Brent, eath her, Kathy and Robert. \ -- their support has. been invaluable. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter ABSTRACT.......................,..,..,.. ...iii 4 , -.. - - -. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ..................I..f.......vi . GLOSSARY.,. ............................... v'iii * r INTRO~CTION....,.........................,.~l Return from the Wars. ........................6 - - The- Veterans Organize. ......................30 The General- Strike and its af.termath.. ......52 Unemployment, Disillusion, Disintegration. .98 BIBLIOGRICPHY..,,........................ 136 viii The ~rmyand Navy Veterans. BCRSAC British Columbia Returned Soldiers' Aid Comrni ssion. (The provincial 'government body in charge of soldiers' re-establishment) Campaigners The Campaigners of the Great War. Comr ades The Comrades of the Great War. i In the post WWl <era this term was used by e-x-service men to refer to other ex-s rvicemen -- their former comrades in arms. It didP no< have exclusively trade union and socialisf connot ations. i i The Canadian ~ational'Union of EX-~#rvicem&n. GAUV The Grand Army of United Veteran?. i I : The Great War Veterans' ~ssociatio/n. 3ne Big Union. Soldiers' Civilian RZ-~stablishment. (The federal government department in charge of soldiers1 repatriation and re-establishment) VTLC Vancouver Trades and Labour Council. INTRODUCTION. Christmas 1321 - approximately seven hundred men are . crowded into a camp in the city of Vancouver. It-is not a pri;on, though:it night *ell be. Each inmate has an identification card issued by the chief df police; each has *i beendsubjected to a medical check for body vermin and venereal course which will eventually be used by- the city's wealthy . -=> inhabitants. The men are paid 20 cents an hour, and from this sum deductions are made of 20 cents per meal and 50 cents per night's accommodation; this leaves 50 cents per week for spending money. The men sleep on two tiers of bunks in one / large room. The camp is plastered with signs that forbid entertaining, speechinaking and alcohol. Camp di scipline is narsh, and authoritarian: the committee that the men form is igncred.by the caap's director. That so many men will undergo these humiliating procedures is a measure of their desperation and destitution. It is the only way they can syrvive the winter. Wh-ile the city auth'orities give relief to married men, single men can only rgceive aid if they report to the Hastings - < - s- p Park Camp. Almost half of the camp's inmates are 4 ex-servicemen. Two years earlier, on their- return from the Great War they had been greeted by cheering, flag waving crowds t - and empty promises of a land fit for heroes. Now they are -4 X m 3 'a, k (d a,r:C >JJaJ a, '0a-03 ,-I u c a)-a) -4 w a C - O'JJ C U a, C JJ a, w w a, a. c JJQ)-LI~, u 3 c o o a, a LI 4-~ a, 'UJJaE @ 0 -4 3 (d C a, V E JJ-WUC k CaJJ l-i (II Q, L: cU h !.I !.I -4 oaa, rn l-i I= u ,-I o crisis and its effects on veterans.