Ed. James is another old-timer. He joined the C.P.R. in its earliest days, and from a telegraph operator rose until he became general superintendent, and afterwards accepted the general managership of the Canadian Northern, from which he resigned and is now living in Vancouver.
Col. E. W. P. Ramsay, who made a high record during the war, having been mentioned in despatches and honoured with a C.M.G., was an apprentice in the mechanical department in his youth and afterwards engineer of construction of Eastern lines—the building of the Lake Ontario shore line being one of his achievements. Charles W. Monserrat in 1889 was a draughtsman and later a bridge engineer. He had charge of the construction of the Quebec bridge, having left the service in 1910.
Other Old-Timers.
John Persse is a prosperous business man of Winnipeg, and W. O. Somers, of the traffic department, W. J. Ross, bridge builder, now of Port Arthur; of superintendents James Murray, Fred Jones, C. W. Milestone, Tom Kilpatrick, W. A. Perry, J. A. Cameron, C. J. Ambridge and G. D. Henderson; of old conductors Joe Fahey, Leary, Billy Fogg, Larose, Billy Chester, now a prominent figure in labor circles, and Billy Brown, now general superintendent in the C.N.R.; of engineers, Ash, Kennedy, J. Brownlee, Armstrong, H. Phipps, Carey, also Bob Willoughby, Tom Carter, Frank Nelson, Mark Baker and Dunham, whose terms of service range from twenty-five to forty years. Doctors Good and Jones, Blanchard, Brett, now Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta; and Andrew Mackenzie, car service agent, is now of the Dominion Coal Company.
Some Who Have Passed Away.
There are many men whom death has called, bright lights in the early days of the C.P.R., and amongst them Judge Clarke, of Cobourg, was one of the ornaments of the Canadian bar. His legal acumen was of the greatest service to the company. Another historic personage was Mr. Henry Beatty, father of the president, who designed and built the original vessels for the Great Lakes. From this nucleus has grown the splendid fleet of ocean, lake, and river steamers, which in itself would entitle the company to front rank among the outstanding transportation systems of the world. He was associated with the company until his death in 1914. Other outstanding figures are T. A. McKinnon, George Olds and Lucius Tuttle, of the traffic department. Harry Abbott, of Vancouver, did invaluable work in construction days in the mountains of British Columbia, and Richard Marpole, of the same city, who started with the construction of the road in Algoma in 1882, after many years’ arduous and efficient labors in the mountains of B.C., became the chief executive officer on the Canadian Pacific Coast. Mr. Marpole had a wonderful grasp in railway matters and died in June, 1920, deeply regretted.
Some Reminiscences.
W. Sutherland Taylor’s connection with railways commenced in 1868 when he was secretary of construction on the Toronto, Grey & Bruce road, and afterwards treasurer of that company. When the T., G. & B. was absorbed by the C.P.R. he became its treasurer and retired in 1908 when he was succeeded by another old-timer, Mr. H. E. Suckling, who is still actively and efficiently serving the company. Mr. Sutherland Taylor and I were old cronies, and we frequently used to indulge in reminiscences. One of his memories was that when a lad he was going down the Rhine and fell in with a very nice Danish family of father, mother and several children. To him they appeared to belong to that highly respectable class which consists of fairly well-to-do old families. He became intimate with them, and when a little later he met them again in Berlin their friendship was renewed and he was invited to lunch at their hotel. During the luncheon one of the boys, Master George, misbehaved himself and received a gentle cuff on the ear and was dismissed from the table. Years after Mr. Taylor discovered that the head of the friendly family had ascended the throne of Denmark and was none other than King Christian IX., and that of his youthful companions, the eldest daughter had been married to the Prince of Wales and had become Queen Alexandra of Britain, and her sister, Princess Dagmar was the Empress of Russia, and the others were afterwards King Frederick VIII., of Denmark and His Royal Highness Prince Wilhelm of Denmark, and George had occupied the throne of Greece, that Princess Lyra of Denmark had married the Duke of Cumberland, and Prince Vladimar of Denmark was wedded to Princess Marie of Orleans. Never before has a wandering young Canadian boy unconsciously got into so much of the white light which beateth about the throne.
Sir William Whyte came to the C.P.R. in its early days, and after filling several important positions in the east, went to Winnipeg, where he was Vice-President, in which position he exerted a wide influence throughout the west.
Then there was Robert Kerr, who as a boy was connected with the old Northern Railway of Toronto, and in 1884 entered the service of the C.P.R., with headquarters at Winnipeg and afterwards at Montreal, filling the position of passenger traffic manager. He was the son of Capt. Kerr, an old steamboat man of Toronto, who was in command of the favorite Maple Leaf, which plied on Lake Ontario, and with whom I sailed as a non-paying passenger many a time. Robert Kerr served with great distinction during the civil war, fighting for the North. Mr. James W. Leonard, who passed away in April, 1919, was another old-timer who is not forgotten. In his youth he was connected with the old Midland Railway of Canada, and afterwards with the Credit Valley, and in 1880, when it was absorbed by the C.P.R., he became a superintendent and afterwards general manager of the road. Mr. Charles Drinkwater was secretary of the railway in 1881, and in 1908 rose to be assistant to the president. In his youth Mr. Drinkwater was secretary to Sir John Macdonald, and gained an insight into parliamentary matters that were of great assistance to him and to the company in matters of legislation in Ottawa.