This week in Prince George history, July 10-16:
July 16, 1920: Prince George's police commissioner was held up at gunpoint after a poker game at a club on George Street turned violent.
"A man named Prather, who left town this morning after a warning by the police, is one of the luckiest tough persons running free today," The Citizen reported. "In a 'little game of stud' it appears that Mr. Prather's hole card did not come up to his expectations. He lost the pot, and then his temper, and proceeded to break up the place. He was forcibly ejected."
Angry at how he was treated, Prather went and got a gun and returned to the club, which The Citizen declined to name.
"Among those present when Mr. Prather returned to the scene of his misfortune was Police Commissioner Watson, who had also wooed Dame Fortune during the recent game.Prather was after the club official who had rightly given him what he would term 'the bum's rush.' Arriving at the door he demanded admittance with many threats. Police Commissioner Watson 'did the polite' and admitted him."
Prather stuck a gun in Watson's ribs and demanded he "stick 'em up," The Citizen reported, which Watson did.
"After throwing an awful scare into Police Commissioner Watson, which reached a climax when he fired a shot through the floor close to that official's feet, he went away from that place, not having found the object of his wrath, who was just a few jumps ahead of him when he reached the club," The Citizen reported.
No complaint was lodged against Prather, but he was warned to police to leave town -which he did early on the morning of July 16, 1920.
(ITALIC) The tongue-in-cheek tone of this whole article makes me wonder if this sort of thing was commonplace in 1920s Prince George, and only notable because it was the police commissioner who was held up. (END ITALIC)
July 14, 1932: A organization representing unemployed men in Prince George sent a request to city council asking for an increase to the relief payments issued by the city.
"The communication was signed by James Bailey, as chairman, and set out the demands of the organization upon the municipality of Prince George," The Citizen reported. "For unmarried, unemployed workers three days work per week is demanded with an eight-hour day and a $4 wage. For married unemployed, the demand is for four days work each week at the same wage, but with a further allowance for dependents."
The letter asked for the relief work to be provided to all unemployed workers, without discrimination by race, colour or political convictions.
"There was also a demand for free housing, light and fuel, as well as free clothing for all workers and members of their families," The Citizen reported.
A delegation of unemployed men attended the city council meeting, and F.J. Newton spoke about the conditions facing the unemployed in the city.
"He said there were from 60 to 70 men living in the 'jungles' in the vicinity of the city, although there were a number of empty houses," The Citizen reported. "He suggested the city council should arrange matters so that these men could occupy the empty houses until relief can be secured from Victoria."
Gus Edvall told city council it was impossible to support his family of seven on the $4 to $5 a week the city provided him for relief.
Another man, who didn't provide his name, told the city aldermen that the relief for married men was inadequate and lower than that provided in other municipalities in the province. He also objected to the city garnishing water and electricity payments from the relief payments it provided.
"Mayor Patterson defended the charging of lighting service to those in receipt of relief," The Citizen reported. "There has been as many as 79 families on the municipal relief list, and there had been a time when deductions were not made for lighting service. It was found some of those on relief sought to cut their expenses as close as possible, while others were utterly indifferent."
Some families on the relief list were running up as much as $7 a month in electricity bills, Patterson said, so the city began charging for electricity again.
"So far as the issue went with respect to the adequacy of the city relief (Patterson) said the members of the council realized they were granting minimum relief, but it was all the relief the taxpayers of the city could afford to give," The Citizen reported.
Patterson said many in the city were struggling to stay off the relief list and pay their taxes, and many residents were unable to pay their taxes over the last two years and may soon lose their property. The city was providing "all that the municipality could afford, and it could not be expected to do more," The Citizen quoted Patterson as saying.
City council voted to defer the issue to a special meeting to discuss relief issues.
In a related matter at the same city council meeting, the city received a report from the Union of B.C. Municipalities about a proposal for federal support for relief payments.
The organization and provincial government collaborated on a proposal calling for a monthly allowance of $20 per family (with an adjustment depending on the number of dependents) and $10 for single men.
"The cost of the allowances for families to be borne equally by the municipality, provincial and federal governments," The Citizen reported. "In the case of single men the federal government (is) to pay 50 per cent of the cost, and the remainder to be divided between the provincial and municipal governments."
Relief for transients would be split equally between the provincial and federal governments, The Citizen reported.
"The relief to be extended to the unmarried men provided the most difficult matter upon which to reach an agreement," The Citizen reported. "The government reported there are 10,000 unmarried men and transients in the work camps, and 5,000 in the cities and municipalities."
City council raised concerns that many of the unemployed men in the region would name Prince George as their home, even through they've never lived in the city.
(ITALIC) This story really shows the depth of unemployment and poverty during the Great Depression. Prince George's population in 1931 was 2,479 people according to B.C. Statistics. With 60 to 70 men living homeless in the woods around the city, and up to 79 families on the relief list, unemployment was rampant.
The proposed $20 relief per month for families amounts to about $348.11 in today's dollars. No wonder Gus Edvall couldn't feed his family of seven on that.
The proposed relief measures wouldn't be adopted. However, the federal government would establish federal work camps for unemployed men offering food, shelter and $0.20 a day in October, 1932.
The national unemployment rate would reach 30 per cent by 1933, with 20 per cent of the population dependent on government assistance. The poor conditions in the camps and lack of relief money resulted in strikes, protests and riots - some of which resulted in violence and fatalities. (END ITALIC)
To explore 100 years of local history yourself, visit the Prince George Citizen archives online at: pgc.cc/PGCarchive. The Prince George Citizen online archives are maintained by the Prince George Public Library.
