The Unhoused: Homelessness in Early-Twentieth Century British Columbia by Eoin Kelly Honours Bachelor of Arts, University of Toronto, 2016 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of History ©Eoin Kelly, 2018 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii The Unhoused: Homelessness in Early-Twentieth Century British Columbia by Eoin Kelly Honours Bachelor of Arts, University of Toronto, 2016 Supervisory Committee Dr. Eric Sager, Supervisor Department of History Dr. Lynne Marks, Departmental Member Department of History iii Abstract North American histories of homelessness have focused upon the specific image of the “tramp.” Exemplified by Charlie Chaplin, Jack London, and various other popular representations in a variety of media formats, the tramp, hobo or bindlestiff is a classic North American symbol. This “tramp” is often represented as a young, white, heteronormative man, and many histories of homelessness focus upon subjects like him. However, newly accessible police, charity and census materials suggest the early- twentieth century homeless population in the Pacific Northwest was more racially and sexually diverse than previously thought. Using a Gramscian liberal order framework theory, I argue that the tramp became a North American liberal ideological icon in response to a growing tension between the needs of capital for a free moving body of labourers and the growing panoptic state. By breaking down the tramp mythos and offering a more accurate image of turn of the century homeless people, we can see the ways liberal ideology has been twisted to justify incarceration, harassment, and exclusion. iv Table of Contents Supervisory Committee ............................................................................................................................ ii Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Figures......................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. vi Introduction – Writing Homeless History .............................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2 – Who Were the Homeless? ................................................................................................. 22 Chapter 3 – Rooming Houses and the Urban Poor ............................................................................. 49 Chapter 4 – Racialized and Gendered Experiences of Homelessness ................................................ 74 Chapter 5 – Popular Representations of the Early-Twentieth Century Homeless ........................... 99 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 123 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 127 Primary Sources ................................................................................................................................ 127 Archival Documents...................................................................................................................... 127 Monographs and Reports ............................................................................................................. 127 Newspapers .................................................................................................................................... 128 Secondary Sources ............................................................................................................................ 129 Monographs ................................................................................................................................... 129 Scholarly Articles .......................................................................................................................... 134 Films and Television Broadcasts ................................................................................................. 138 Theses ............................................................................................................................................. 139 Newspapers .................................................................................................................................... 139 Websites ......................................................................................................................................... 140 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................ 141 Why Scab For a Temporary Job ..................................................................................................... 141 Harvest War Song ............................................................................................................................. 142 Overalls and Snuff ............................................................................................................................ 142 Walking on the Grass ....................................................................................................................... 143 v Table of Figures Table 2.1 Vagrancy Law Statutes, Criminal Code of Canada 1892 .........................................................................24 Table 2.2 Victoria Vagrancy Charges per Year, by Charge Laid .............................................................................27 Table 2.3 Victoria Vagrancy Charges by Gender .....................................................................................................28 Table 2.4 Victoria Vagrancy Charges per Year, by Race/Ethnicity .........................................................................29 Table 2.5 Vancouver Vagrancy Charges per Year ...................................................................................................32 Table 2.6 Vancouver Vagrancy Arrests per Year, by Race ......................................................................................33 Table 2.7 Ages of Vancouver Police Court Defendants ...........................................................................................35 Table 2.8 Occupations of Vancouver Police Court Defendants ...............................................................................36 Table 2.9 Ages of Police Court Defendants, Shelter Residents and the 1911 Census Population, Vancouver ........39 Table 2.10 Associated Charities, Vancouver Police Court and 1911 Census Race Categories ...............................41 Table 2.11 Shelter Residents, Time in Vancouver, per year, Associated Charities of Vancouver ...........................42 Table 2.12 Occupations in Vancouver, Associated Charities, Police Court Records and 1911 Census Results......43 Table 2.13 Reasons for Requesting Charity by Shelter Residents, Associated Charities of Vancouver ..................46 Table 2.14 Relief Granted to Shelter Residents, Vancouver Associated Charities ..................................................47 Table 3.1 Victoria and Vancouver 1911 Census Results .........................................................................................59 Table 3.2 Victoria and Vancouver 1911 Census, Roomers ......................................................................................63 Table 3.3 Victoria Logistic Regression, Roomer/Not Roomer as Dependent Variable, 1911 .................................68 Table 3.4 Vancouver Logistic Regression, Roomer/Not Roomer as Dependent Variable, 1911 .............................71 vi Acknowledgements A Masters thesis is a challenging endeavour and one which requires the support and encouragement of many. While researching and writing, I had the pleasure of working with numerous individuals and organizations who made the process far less arduous and taxing. To the archivists at the City Archives of Victoria and the Vancouver City Archives, thank you for helping me sift through copious amounts of long-forgotten and highly restricted materials. To my undergraduate professors Sean Mills, Laurie Bertram, and Ian Radforth at the University of Toronto, I am extremely grateful for your helpful advice and ideas, which were the catalyst for this thesis. I am also indebted to the History Department at the University of Victoria for their generous financial and academic support. Professors Elizabeth Vibert, Lynne Marks, Rick Rajala and John Price were especially instrumental in developing my research, both through their courses, and their close readings of my early writing. Professor John Lutz’s advice on my thesis during my time as his research assistant was also extremely helpful. To the members of my committee who have given strong and useful feedback, Professor Mark Leier of Simon Fraser University and Professor Lynne Marks of the University of Victoria,