Woodpecker Election

Former Vancouver Mayor, L.D. Taylor, was a man with a puckish sense of humour and he loved creating legends. About himself.

One time, he "kidnapped" ex-President "Teddy" Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt. It wasn't a kidnapping the way you may think though.

The Roosevelts were visiting Vancouver and the Board of Trade decided to omit the mayor from the official reception at the CPR station. Well Taylor wasn't having any of that.

He boarded the train at the Heatley Avenue station and introduced himself to the ex-President. He then ushered them off the train, condescendingly introducing them to a few board members before escorting the couple to a borrowed limousine for a drive around Stanley Park.

In the election of 1923, Taylor lost to Tisdall and that was due to a sudden and complete power failure in the East End. The street cars were immobilized during the late afternoon. The residents of the East End were primarily workingmen who made up the bulk of Taylor's support. They couldn't get to the polls and vote before the polls closed.

The next day, B.C. Electric - who were responsible for the street cars - produced a dead woodpecker. According to them, the woodpecker had penetrated the internal workings of a transformer and paralysed the power system.  So Taylor lost the "woodpecker election". However, he did gain yet another legend.

In 1928, L.D. was struck on the head by an air plane propeller at the inauguration of B.C. Airways passenger services. He had a long convalescence after which Taylor dramatically presided over council meetings in a wheelchair. He was still partially paralysed.

A year after this incident, the 72-year-old narrowly escaped drowning while on a five-week canoe trip north of Prince George.

In 1931, after attending the opening of Sea Island airport Louis D. Taylor contracted a lingering illness, which brought him to the verge of death.

Thanks to Alan Morley and his book, Vancouver, From Milltown to Metropolis for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill 

11/11/18

The labour troubles during and after the war culminated in the longshoreman's strike in the winter of 1923-24. Even though that was a bitterly fought fight, Vancouver was fortunate enough to escape the impact of a major upheaval such as the Winnipeg general strike of 1919.

The Canadian Legion also didn't turn on the unions as "betrayers of men at the front" like the American Legion did. And Canada was at war for almost three years longer than the U.S. Our fighting men were mostly working men during some period of 1914-18 either before enlisting or after they returned, wounded. A very large proportion of the union were men who had fought in the war by the time the was ended.

The last of WWI saw the trends of 1917 intensify. Except for the strikes. There was full employment, business was "the soundest in history", prices went higher, stocks of goods were low and housing was scarce.

The main war industry continued to be shipbuilding. 39 vessels, large and small, were completed, six still on the way with 33 wooden and 12 steel ships contracted for. There had been 39 tag days during the war, which raised $105,000 for various charities; people were complaining about the frequent appeals.

 
All things come to an end. Including WWI. News of the armistice arrived just after midnight, early in the morning on November 11. The town went wild; lights blazed, whistles blew, elderly housewives danced in the streets, dignified businessmen yelled, shrieked and beat on tin cans.

All day long, the streets were filled with people. At noon, traffic could not move at Hastings and Main. A step-seated, open B.C. Electric sightseeing car careened all over town with a band jam-packed on board, blaring out all the wartime songs. It was piloted by fast-talking, wisecracking Teddy Lyons.

A civic parade that afternoon made its way through the crowds of hoarse, happy, tired but still yelling and cheering men, women and children.

Thanks to the book Vancouver, From Milltown to Metropolis by Alan Morley for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Bitter Labour

When I left off Monday, the year was 1917 and Vancouver was experiencing an economic boom. It was also starting to experience a little labour unrest. Nothing too drastic, most were easily settled strikes, which weren't affecting the city too much. But on June 13, B.C. Electric - public transit - walked off the job. There had been no wage increase in two years.

Trackmen were paid 29 cents an hour and many of the employees made less than $60 a month. The union wanted five cents an hour increase in the lower categories and five percent in the higher, to bring top wages to $84 a month.

The company said they couldn't afford it, the jitney competition had hit it so hard B.C. Electric was losing money on the transit system. The strike lasted eight days and the people of Vancouver rode jitneys or walked to get around, they were siding with the striking workers. The company finally gave in when the city promised to investigate the jitney situation.

Dr. Adam Shortt carried out the investigation. The basic situation though remained unchanged and carried on. B.C. Electric employees again walked out on July 2, 1918. It was a bitter fight.

The company refused to budge, conciliation under Mr. Justice Macdonald failed and the workers refused to accept an arbitration award in favour of the company. The provincial government waded into the fray, bringing pressure against jitney competition, on the strength of Shortt findings.

The strike was settled on July 11 with the men receiving a pay increase, the city granting a one-cent fare increase and abolishing jitney licenses.

The hostility between the workers and B.C. Electric was long-lasting and the repercussions of the two strikes were still apparent nearly two decades later. In 1934, Mayor Taylor was serving his unprecedented 8th term in office and appealed to the company on behalf of the men. He staved off a threatened wage cut by counter-threatening to again license jitneys.

Thanks to the book Vancouver, From Milltown to Metropolis by Alan Morley for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill