Part 52

=Bell, Hon. George Alexander=, Chairman of the Local Government Board for the Province of Saskatchewan, is one of the pubic administrators of the Canadian West, and in an unusual degree the architect of his own fortunes. He was born on a farm in Brant County, Ontario, on August 3, 1856, the son of David and Agnes (Melrose) Bell. He was educated in the public schools of Huron County, and continued on the farm until he was twenty years old, after which he learned the trade of blacksmith, which he followed for the next twelve years, four in Ontario and eight in Manitoba. He moved to the latter province in 1880 on the opening up of that province by the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1888 he engaged in the agricultural implement business as agent for the Massey-Harris Company, and continued therein for the next thirteen years. In 1903, because of his exceptional knowledge of the country he was appointed by the Dominion Government Homestead Inspector for the Land District of Estevan, Saskatchewan, a position he resigned in 1908 to become a candidate for the Saskatchewan Legislature, and was elected as a supporter of the Liberal administration of Hon. Walter Scott. He was re-elected for Estevan in 1912, and called to the Cabinet and sworn in as Provincial Treasurer on August 19 of that year. The Government had established a system of Government-owned telephones, and this portfolio was shortly combined with his duties as Treasurer. In his second capacity of Minister of Telephones he was sworn in February, 1913, and continued to administer both offices until May, 1918, when he resigned from the Cabinet and Legislature to accept the post of Chairman of the Local Government Board, an important office, for which his administrative capacity and thorough knowledge of Western conditions eminently fit him. Mr. Bell is a Liberal in politics, and a Presbyterian in religion. He is a member of the Wascana Country Club, Regina (his favorite recreation being golf), and of the following societies: A.F. & A.M., I.O.O.F., and C.O.F. On December 6, 1883, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Johnston and Rachel (Cosgrove) Smith, of Elmwood, Bruce County, Ont., and has seven children, George Melrose, Ella Mabel, Gordon, Ethel, Grace Agnes, Lorne David, and Harold Alexander Bell. Mr. and Mrs. Bell reside at Regina, Sask.

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=Martin, Hon. William Melville, K.C.=, Prime Minister of Saskatchewan, is a native of the village of Norwich, Oxford County, Ont. He was born on August 23, 1877, the son of Rev. William M. and Christina (Jamieson) Martin, both his parents being natives of Scotland. While he was very young his parents removed to Exeter in Huron County, where his father served as Minister of the Presbyterian Church for twenty-six years. The subject of this sketch was educated at Exeter Public School, Clinton Collegiate Institute, and the University of Toronto, from which institution he graduated with the degree of B.A. and honors in classics. He also attended the Ontario School of Pedagogy to qualify as a High School teacher, and subsequently acted as Classical Master at Harriston High School for two years, 1899-1901. This however he regarded but as a stepping-stone to the practice of law for which he qualified at Osgoode Hall, Toronto. On being called to the bar he went to Regina, Saskatchewan, and commenced practice in July, 1903. He developed great talent not only as a lawyer but as a public speaker, and soon became prominent in the Liberal party. In 1906 he was offered the Liberal nomination for the House of Commons, for the old riding of Western Assiniboia, in succession to Hon. Walter Scott (who had resigned his Ottawa seat to become the first Prime Minister of the newly organized province of Saskatchewan), but declined. At the general elections of 1908, however, he yielded to the requests of his friends and accepted nomination, being elected by a majority of 708. At the general elections of 1911, despite the fact that the Liberal party as a whole met defeat, he was elected by the increased majority of 1,730. In all he sat in the House of Commons at Ottawa for eight years and although one of its youngest members was regarded as one of the most brilliant. In 1916 Hon. Walter Scott was obliged to resign the Premiership of Saskatchewan owing to ill health and Mr. Martin’s party friends in the West urged that he resign from Federal politics and accept the Premiership. He assented and at a by-election on November 13, 1916, was returned for Mr. Scott’s seat, Regina City, by acclamation. He reorganized the cabinet and framed a programme of progressive legislation which proved so acceptable to the electorate that at the general election of 1917 his administration was sustained by a very handsome majority. In addition to the offices of Prime Minister and President of the Council he administers the portfolios of Minister of Education and Minister of Railways. His educational reforms, covering as they do many problems of extreme moment, have been very important, and have attracted wide attention throughout Canada, and in the United States as well. Generally speaking Saskatchewan legislation under his regime has won fame for progress and effectiveness. So widespread is his reputation that on the death of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, early in 1919, many, both in the East and West, suggested him as the best available successor to the Federal Liberal leadership. Many of his friends still predict a Federal career for him, although Mr. Martin himself prefers to see his own programme of legislation for Saskatchewan carried out before aspiring to a wider arena. He is a Presbyterian in religion and a member of the Wascana Country Club and the Assiniboia Club. On Sept. 26, 1906, he married Violet Florence, daughter of the late Walter Thomson of Mitchell, Ont., and has two sons, Walter M. and Douglas Martin. His home is at 2042 Cornwall St., Regina, Sask.

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=Henry, David Edouard=, founder of Henry’s Shorthand School, 209 Sparks Street, Ottawa, on January 2, 1913, was born at Clarence Creek, Russell County, Ontario, April 24, 1874, his parents being Jacques Henry, a farmer, and Aurelie Laviolette. He was educated in Ottawa at the Grey Nuns’ Convent and the Christian Brothers’ School. Building it on a sure foundation—according to the laws of economics, well equipped, and capably managed by experts—Mr. Henry made his school an enviable success. At the opening in 1913, the school was located at the corner of Bank and Gloucester Streets, and within three months, having outgrown its original premises it was removed to its present premises on the corner of Sparks and Bank Streets—the Capital’s busy corner—which from time to time have been enlarged as the requirements of increased attendance demanded until to-day they are some five times the original size, and are likely to be enlarged still further at an early date, although his school is to-day the largest in Eastern Ontario. When the school was transferred from the corner of Bank and Gloucester Streets to the corner of Bank and Sparks, Mr. Henry had but 40 day pupils. In 1918, the number had increased to 562, which students are to-day holding good positions in the Dominion Government offices, manufacturing and wholesale establishments, banking houses, etc., all of which bears tribute to the high standard of efficiency of the school. For eleven years before Mr. Henry went into business for himself, he was in charge of the shorthand department of the Willis Business College in Ottawa, when S. T. Willis was proprietor. In his school, his staff consists of experts in shorthand, typewriting, business penmanship, practical English, spelling, punctuation, transcription, correspondence, etc., etc., and those who receive instruction in any one of these receive the best that can be had. At the age of 16 years, Mr. Henry was awarded a Fourth Form Certificate and honours for composition, spelling and penmanship. He acquired a systematic course of self-instruction, studied shorthand (French system) and afterwards English, and made himself proficient in the Isaac Pitman, Ben Pitman, Graham, Munson, Scott-Browne, Beale, Calligraphy (a Canadian production), and the Gregg systems. He studied French, English, German, Greek and Latin, and received special study in penmanship at the Zanerian College, Columbus, Ohio. To acquire a practical business education, he had experience as stenographer and bookkeeper with big business firms such as Perkins & Fraser, barristers; Alexander Mutchmor, auditor, etc. From 1894 to 1896, Mr. Henry made a special study of scientific methods for imparting shorthand and typewriting, and during 1895-6 taught shorthand at the Capital City Business College, at Ottawa, and had charge of the Y.M.C.A. classes for several months. In 1896, he attended the Rochester, New York, Business Institute, to acquire a greater qualification for teaching, and, in 1899, established a shorthand school, which later he closed to join the staff of the Metropolitan Business College at Ottawa. For two years, he attended Rev. Dr. McMeekin’s “Ottawa College of Oratory,” and gave several successful recitals in the Albert Hall. In 1899, Mr. Henry corrected a text book on Pitman’s shorthand for Messrs. Powers and Lyons, of Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Henry is a graduate of the New York College of Phonography; the Phonographic Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio; and is the only personal graduate in Canada of the well known Gregg School of Chicago. He holds the Scott-Browne’s Certificate. In his examination for the Phonographic Institute Teacher’s Certificate, he made the highest record, viz., 97.2 per cent., thereby defeating more than 700 candidates. Mr. Henry is a member of the Gregg Shorthand Association of America, and is the author of two standard works in shorthand. Mr. Henry is a Roman Catholic in religion, a Liberal in politics, and, for recreation, spends his time motoring. He resides at 205 O’Connor Street, Ottawa, Ontario.

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=Gibbon, Arthur Playford=, Principal of the Central Business College, Hamilton, Ont., is one of Canada’s leading commercial educationists. He was born on April 7, 1871, in a log house in the township of Nichol, Wellington County, Ont., the son of William and Susan (Reynolds) Gibbon. His early education was received in the rural school of his section, and later he walked four miles night and morning to attend the High School and Model School at Elora. From January, 1892, to July, 1894, he taught in rural ungraded schools, after which he returned to the farm for five years to care for his father and mother. Deciding to equip himself as a commercial teacher he took a course at Stratford Business College, and after graduation taught in that institution for six months. In 1901, he went to Woodstock, Ont., to take the post of junior commercial teacher, and after one year became senior in these subjects. In 1904, he became Principal, and under his guidance built up the institution into one of the most important of its kind in Western Ontario. In Woodstock he also took an active part in public and business affairs. He acted as auditor for several large commercial houses, and sat in the municipal council as alderman. In the latter capacity his business acumen and sound judgment made him one of the most useful of public servants. His faculty for acquiring knowledge of every detail of civic business made him very valuable in the consideration of measures for the city’s welfare, so that when in August, 1909, he decided to leave Woodstock, expressions of regret were universal. In Woodstock, also, he became very active in the temperance cause, and served as Secretary-Treasurer of the North Oxford Prohibition Association. As Treasurer of the local branch of the Y.M.C.A., he rendered very important service in connection with the erection of new buildings, and he was very prominent in church work as a member of the Methodist body. In 1909, he sold his interest in Woodstock Business College, and bought Clark’s Business College at Hamilton, Ont. When he took charge on January 1, 1910, the attendance at the institution was but 34 day and 28 night students. He changed the name to the Central Business College, and within a few years his powers of organization had built up the attendance to five times the original figure. Mr. Gibbon’s chief hobby is Sunday School work, and he has served as a religious teacher of the young for over thirty years, in the various places where he has lived. His spirit of enterprise and attractive personality make him an ideal influence on youth. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club, Hamilton, and of the following fraternal societies, I.O.O.F., A.F. & A.M., Royal Templars of Temperance, and the Orange Order. On November 6, 1901, he married Margaret H. Lacey, and has two children, Playford Sutherland Gibbon and Ada Margaret Gibbon.

[Illustration: E. BLAKE ROBERTSON, OTTAWA J. C. BREITHAUPT, KITCHENER]

=Webber, John A.=, Assistant Postmaster, Hamilton, Ont., was born in the township of Binbrook, Wentworth County, December 10th, 1861, the son of Esau Webber, contractor, Hamilton, Ont., and his wife Isabella (Ledmon) Webber. He was educated at the Hamilton Public Schools and Hamilton Collegiate Institute, was appointed to the Civil Service as a clerk in the Hamilton Post Office, October 24, 1881, advancing steadily till, in June, 1918, he was appointed to his present position by the Civil Service Commission, an appointment received with general satisfaction by the press and business men of Hamilton, and one of the earliest important promotions made by the Civil Service Commission. He married on June 1, 1886, Helena S. Murray, daughter of John J. Murray (M.D. Trinity College, Dublin), of Waterdown, and has two daughters, Ada A., wife of R. H. Moore, Cleveland, Ohio, and Charlotte I. Mr. Webber is a member of the Canadian Club, President Hamilton Horticultural Society, Vice-President Hamilton Garden Club, Director of Ontario Horticultural Society, representing Niagara District, member of the Executive Council Hamilton Scientific Association, member of the Canadian Order of Foresters, life member of Canadian Red Cross, and a sustaining member of the Hamilton Health Association (Mountain Sanitary). He is an Anglican, and a member of the Executive Board of St. Thomas Church. Outside of his agreeable manner, intense activity is Mr. Webber’s outstanding characteristic, and his principal recreation seems to be in always doing things, and doing them well and cheerfully. Alluding to his appointment, “The Civilian” (organ of the Civil Service), says: “In the appointment of Mr. John A. Webber as assistant postmaster at Hamilton, we have another instance of the application of the merit system as inaugurated by the Civil Service Commission. He was appointed to the staff on October 24, 1881, and has risen from junior clerk to almost head by efficient work, his standing in all Departmental examinations being very high. For ten years before his present appointment, he acted as Superintendent of the office, filling the assistant postmaster’s place during Mr. Matthews’ absence, and while in these positions his courteous and prompt attention to the needs of the public made him a host of friends in the business world with whom the appointment is very popular. As to the staff, the appointment is equally popular, every man knowing that under Mr. Webber any grievance is sure of a fair hearing and a just decision in the matter.” Mr. Webber’s father was a prominent contractor in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, during which period he erected many public buildings and business blocks, among which were St. Mary’s Cathedral, Centenary Church, Masonic Hall, Lester Block and hundreds of stores, hotels and private dwellings. While carrying on the contracting business during the period of food shortage, following the Crimean War, he bought and operated a 200-acre farm in the county on which the subject of this sketch was born but only remained during infancy. During the Great War Mr. Webber took an active part in patriotic, Red Cross and Relief Work, and in his long connection as director, and for several years in succession President of the Hamilton Horticultural Society. Has contributed not a little to the beautifying of home surroundings throughout the city. In his connection with the Gordon Club and in the eight counties under his jurisdiction as director of the Ontario Horticultural Society he did much to stimulate the production of vegetables and other foods throughout the district during the war. His efforts in the direction received commendation from the President of the National War Garden Commissioner, Washington, D.C., for adding to the world’s supply of food during the war. Mr. Webber lives at 130 Stinson Street, where he delights in Horticulture.

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=Irwin, William Nassau= (Toronto, Ont.), only son of Francis Irwin (Irish), for many years Treasurer of the town of Orangeville, county town of Dufferin, and Jane (Taylor) Irwin (Canadian). Born at Orangeville, Ontario, on November 14, 1863. Educated in the Public and High Schools of Orangeville, and Trinity College, Toronto. Studied law in office of McCarthy and Walsh, Orangeville, and afterwards with Mowat, Maclennan, Downey and Langton, and Maclaren, Macdonald, Merritt and Shepley, Toronto, graduating from Osgoode Hall, and called to the Bar in September, 1886. A member of the legal firm of Henderson, Irwin and Ungaro, Toronto. Married in September, 1893. His only son, James Carter Irwin, member of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry, wounded in action in Flanders, died at King George Hospital, London, England, July 31, 1916, from effects of his wounds, in his 18th year. Mr. Irwin was interested in bicycling, when that sport was at the height of its popularity, being President of the Athenaeum Cycling Club, and member of the Canadian Wheelmen’s Executive for several years. Member of the Church of England and the Orange Order. Interested in journalism. A Liberal-Conservative.

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=Sinclair, Robert Victor, K.C.=, Barrister and Solicitor, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Morrison (Colville) Sinclair, was born in Forestville, New York, May 24, 1861, and at an early age came to Canada with his parents and settled in Ottawa, where he received his education in the Ottawa Collegiate Institute. He read law with Stewart, Chrysler & Gormully from 1880 to 1885, and was called to the bar in the latter year, when he went into partnership with Mr. Gormully under the title of Gormully & Sinclair, and remained there until 1894, when he retired to practise alone. In 1900, he formed a partnership with the late Sir Adolphe Caron, the firm being known as Caron & Sinclair, and remained there until 1907, when he again retired to practise alone. In 1908 he was created a K.C. Mr. Sinclair is recognized in the Ottawa legal fraternity as one of the Capital’s most successful barristers. In 1907, Mr. Sinclair was elected a member of the Ottawa Stock Exchange. August, 1887, he married Daisy King, daughter of James W. King, ex-M.P., Director of Penitentiaries. He has one son and three daughters. He is a member of the Rideau Hunt Club, and was a member of the executive committee in 1907. In religion he is an Anglican, in politics a Conservative, and he resides at 237 Wilbrod St., Ottawa, Ontario.

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=Campbell, William Brough.= The late W. B. Campbell, of Toronto, insurance publisher and editor, was of Scottish extraction and was born in Shannonville, Ontario (then Canada West), on July 17, 1854. He was the eldest of four children who reached maturity. While he was still a child, his parents removed with their family to Toronto, where he continued to reside until his death. He was educated in the public schools, and went to work while still only a lad, serving under his father, who held an administrative position in the Toronto office of the old Lancashire Fire Insurance Company. About 1880 he joined his father in the publication of a monthly insurance journal called “The Budget.” From its first issue the new paper was independent in policy and aggressive in tone, and its strictures upon some of the loose practices of insurance companies, and especially its denunciations of wild-cat concerns carrying on a business of plunder in the name of insurance, made it a power in its field. A fairly extensive printing business was developed as a side line of the business, but ultimately this proved too complex a load for the periodical to carry. The result was that other people acquired the rights in “The Budget.” But the Campbells, father and son, at once came out with a new venture, “The Bulletin,” virtually a continuation of the old. In 1905, feeling the need of greater freedom in editorial and business policy than his surroundings permitted, Mr. Campbell dissociated himself from his father, and began the publication of “Office and Field,” a weekly—in its time the only weekly journal in the world wholly devoted to life insurance. The world-wide upheaval in life insurance business arising from the investigation by a committee of the legislature of the State of New York in 1905 threatened the new venture with early extinction, but by daring and skilful guidance Mr. Campbell brought his craft to success. He demanded and insisted upon service of the public as the one justification for life insurance. It was largely through his influence that the life insurance agents were organized as the Life Underwriters’ Association of Canada, an institution which, carrying out the policy which he and other leaders laid down, has achieved a splendid success. His work, both as editor and propagandist was a distinct factor in making life insurance in Canada the great financial and social force it has become. Mr. Campbell was married in September, 1887, to Jessie G., eldest daughter of the late George Maclean Rose. Of this union there were born two daughters and a son. The son, Wilfrid Maclean Campbell answered the call to the colours, and served as a private in France and Flanders from February, 1916, to the end. He was one of the glorious Canadians at Vimy Ridge, was wounded at Hill 70, but returned to the ranks, and was among those who marched as victors into Germany. Too great devotion to business broke down Mr. Campbell’s health, and after a short illness he died in June, 1914, in his sixtieth year.

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