From Spenders to Savers: Thrift, Saving and Luxury in Canada during the First World War By Madeleine Kloske Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in History Department of History Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © Madeleine Kloske, Ottawa, Canada, 2017 ii Abstract: “From Spenders to Savers: Thrift, Saving, and Luxury in Canada during the First World War” Author: Madeleine Kloske Supervisor: Heather Murray 2017 This thesis focuses on wartime thrift and patriotic consumer campaigns as central features of the Canadian home front experience during the First World War. Using records from government officials, federal departments, and volunteer service organizations, as well as examples from newspapers, magazines, and other wartime publications, this study explores the ways in which wartime standards of acceptable consumption and patriotic spending and saving were developed, challenged and negotiated. It traces a shift in sensibilities from a spending to saving ethos through the lens of the Business as Usual and Made in Canada campaigns which, by mid-war, gave way to the thrift and food conservation campaigns. Notions of wartime patriotism demanded that every Canadian “do their bit”; thus, public participation in wartime thrift and saving was encouraged through widespread organized campaigns and enforced through informal surveillance networks. This study argues that wartime calls for thrift and sacrifice, meant to support a national project aimed at ensuring victory, were undermined by an apparent and persistent inequality; many Canadians perceived wartime policies as protective of the wealthy and business-owning minority at the expense of the working and agricultural majority. Moreover, as the war continued, it became clear that some Canadians refused to “do their bit” and continued to make unpatriotic consumer choices; this gave rise to an outspoken anti-luxury and anti-wealth movement. This study further argues that wartime scrutiny of individual choices, as viewed through the lens of wartime spending and saving, revealed a iii great concern over the moral integrity of Canada and its citizens. Many Canadians viewed the war as an opportunity to revisit and instill those moral habits of thrift and self-sacrifice that appeared to be startlingly absent from the current generation – an absence they blamed on both the perils of modern consumerism and the general ineptitude and selfishness of the masses. Thus, the government, in collaboration with large service organizations, launched a national project of social engineering aimed at instilling Canadians with a proper sense of thrift and saving that would not only aid in the war effort but could be carried forth into the postwar world. As such, this thesis illuminates the tensions between the individualism inherent in modern capitalism and the communalism demanded by wartime patriotism. While the market became subordinate to the government and the widespread spirit of self- sacrifice, federal officials and patriotic proponents struggled to rein in the overwhelming desire of Canadians to participate in the market economy unfettered by the moral restraints of wartime. iv Acknowledgements I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the many people who assisted in the completion of this thesis. My research would not have been possible without the financial support of the University of Ottawa and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to my supervisor, Professor Heather Murray, who has been a constant source of support and guidance. Her enthusiasm for my research was unwavering and her intellectual energy was (and is) contagious. When I decided to switch to part-time enrollment and pursue a career in the public service, Heather’s unwavering support helped ease the transition and at the same time ensure that I never lost the motivation to finish my dissertation or the desire to engage with academia. For this, I am truly grateful. A special thank you is also due to Professor Jeffrey Keshen who acted as my MA supervisor and who gave valuable encouragement and advice in the development of a research plan during the formative stages of this dissertation. To complete my research, I visited several libraries and archives. I would like to offer a sincere thank you to the staff at Library and Archives Canada for their frequent and kind assistance in locating some more obscure sources. I would also like to thank the team at the University of Ottawa’s Morisset Library who worked tirelessly to secure hundreds of microfilm reels from across the country via interlibrary loan. v I would also like to extend thanks to everyone at the Department of History at the University of Ottawa. The faculty and staff provided endless support during my time there. In particular, I would like to thank Suzanne Dalrymple and Manon Bouladier-Major who work tirelessly to provide support to graduate students and make sure things happen when they are supposed to. During the course of my studies, I formed meaningful friendships with many of my colleagues. Special thanks is due to Katie Simanzik and Whitney Sherwood. Over the past years, my sanity has remained intact due in large part to the numerous coffee dates, weekend visits, reality checks, and long conversations that I shared with each of them. I am lucky enough to count them both among my closest friends. I would also like to thank Andrew Gaeiro, Aaron Boyes, Dan Pellerin and Sean Graham. Thank you to everyone for the outstanding support network. This graduate student community played a crucial role in the completion of this dissertation. My parents, Beth, Chuck, Mark, and Karen, have always supported my love of reading and thirst for knowledge from a young age. Their support and encouragement gave me the skills and confidence to follow my dreams. I may be far away in geography but never in heart. Thanks must also be given to my brother Mike who provided many a good laugh over the years. vi Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: “Hold these sharks back”: Financial Crisis and Moratorium, 1913-1914 ...... 13 Economic Recession of 1913 ........................................................................................ 15 The Early Wartime Economy ....................................................................................... 21 The Moratorium Question............................................................................................. 26 Western Farmers ........................................................................................................... 38 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 2: “Keep the lifeblood of the nation moving”: Patriotic Consumer Campaigns, 1914-1916 ......................................................................................................................... 47 Business as Usual .......................................................................................................... 51 Made in Canada ............................................................................................................ 54 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 3 “Give until it hurts”: Thrift and Economy in Wartime, 1916-1918 ................. 76 Defining Thrift .............................................................................................................. 82 Conservation in the Forecast ......................................................................................... 85 A Thriftless People ....................................................................................................... 90 War Loans and Government Thrift, 1914-1917 ......................................................... 100 Public Response .......................................................................................................... 112 Popular Thrift Campaign, 1916-1918 ......................................................................... 123 Children and War Thrift.............................................................................................. 131 Women, Thrift, and Civic Reciprocity ....................................................................... 133 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 136 Chapter 4 ‘We are saving you – You save food’: wartime food control, conservation and economy .......................................................................................................................... 138 Wartime Food Prices................................................................................................... 141 Food Control ..............................................................................................................