THOMAS GAUTHIER.
The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man’s modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments but rather to leave the perpetual record establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his fellowmen, and any history of Montreal introducing biographies of her citizens whose activities and influence have been for the city’s growth and betterment, would be incomplete without reference to Thomas Gauthier.
His life has been so varied in activity, so honorable in its purposes, so far-reaching and beneficial in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of the city and also left an impress upon the annals of the province. His business interests are extensive and important, but by no means cover the scope of his activities, as he has been identified with various movements and projects having to do with the public welfare along material, political, social and moral lines.
Mr. Gauthier was born in Montreal in 1844 and attended the Lachine Commercial School, but is largely a self-educated as well as a self-made man. He has ever been a reader and thinker and in the school of experience has learned many valuable lessons. At times he has acquired with labor and difficulty the knowledge which he has been so anxious should be given others, his efforts in behalf of education being well known. He began his active business career in Montreal in 1869, and for many years he conducted the Place Chaboillez establishment with conspicuous success. During this time, having become widely and favorably known, he was elected president of the old Society of Mutual Assistance—the Union St. Joseph.
THOMAS GAUTHIER
In 1881 the Association of Retail Grocers, of which he was one of the founders, appointed him president and through his active exertions the Chamber of Commerce of Montreal was established. Along these and various other lines he has promoted the business activity of Montreal, pushing forward the wheels of progress in such a way that the entire city has benefited thereby.
His public service in connection with municipal affairs has been equally notable and commendable. He was one of Montreal’s aldermen from 1890 to 1893, and his labors were effective and beneficial as a member of the committees of police and hygiene. He was largely instrumental in establishing the mutual benefit fund among the members of the police force and also in establishing the first public bath in Hochelaga ward. All this, however, does not cover the scope of his activities, for in various other fields of usefulness his labors proved resultant. In the year 1883-4 he was general treasurer of the St. Jean Baptiste Society and was treasurer of the Montreal Exposition Company, in 1891, the only year in which it showed a surplus. He was a member of the finance committee of the National Association for a number of years, being also one of the promoters of the building of the Monument National, and in 1909 he was elected vice president and in 1911 became president, serving until April, 1913.
One of the most important of Mr. Gauthier’s public services has been in behalf of education. It was largely through the missionary work done by him and the assistance he received from the Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Trade and the Builders’ Exchange that the government was induced to take up the establishment of technical schools in Montreal and Quebec. In this connection Mr. Gauthier has done a noble and patriotic work, the value of which cannot be estimated. He has been president of the Council of Arts and Manufactures continuously since 1897, and more than three thousand scholars are now participating in these classes.