The winter service was being kept up by sleighs, the tracks and appliances preventing the cars from running. The Company had eight sleighs at this time, with five more being built. There were no heating appliances, and in order to keep the passengers warm each sleigh was provided with about a foot of pea straw, in which the people buried their cold feet.
During the early days the cars were run in a rather happy-go-lucky fashion. Time was of little object. The cars would stop anywhere to take up passengers, and if one wanted to get off and talk to a friend or do a little shopping, the obliging conductors would wait and give their horses a rest. But the demands of business were getting too much for this, and in June, 1865, the board decided that in future the cars should not be stopped to allow passengers to go into stores and make purchases and return again, because this kept other passengers waiting.
It was found that the wages paid were too high, and in August, 1865, conductors were reduced from $30 to $25 a month. The conductors petitioned for a return to their old pay of $1 a day, but this was refused, and the Directors reduced the pay of drivers from $25 to $20 a month. At this time Mr. J.H.R. Molson found he had not time to attend to his duties as vice-president, and resigned.
In 1870 the Company celebrated its tenth birthday by issuing $10,000 of new stock pro rata to the old shareholders, and in 1873 $200,000 more was allotted at par.
For many years matters went along smoothly and quietly until the twenty-sixth annual meeting, in 1886, when an event occurred which subsequently meant a good deal for the Company, although little noticed at the time. This was the election of the present president, Hon. L.J. Forget, as a director. The board of directors was as follows:—
Jesse Joseph, president; Alex. Murray, vice-president, Dr. W.H. Hingston, Hugh McLennan, and L.J. Forget.
During all this time the mileage of the Company had not increased very greatly, only amounting to 12½ miles by 1892, although St. Denis Street had been double tracked in 1891. At this time the Company was operating eighty-two regular sleighs during the winter season.
The year, 1892, however, marked the most important period in the Company’s history, the beginning of the electric era, which has produced such wonderful results in the past two decades.[3] It was not without violent opposition that the subject was discussed. Several directors supported by many of the shareholders declared that the thing was impossible and would ruin the Company, and some of the directors even went to the length of resigning rather than countenance such a project. So if the first directors of the Company, in 1861, were men of courage and enterprise, how much more so were those who backed up the change to electricity in face of the great cost and doubtful outcome.
At the adjourned special meeting of Tuesday, May 17th, 1892, there being present Mr. H. McLennan, vice-president; Dr. W.H. Hingston and L.J. Forget, a tender for electric car service was submitted and considered clause by clause and finally approved of and adopted and ordered to be transmitted to the city clerk, together with the sum of $25,000.00 deposit.
The city accepted the Company’s terms, and the work of electrifying the service was started without delay.