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(June 26, 1915) Not only have officials in France been negotiating with the Department at Ottawa with a view to securing stocker cattle from Canada for importation to France, but private buyers in France have been in touch with Toronto live stock commission men, with the same end in view. Military requirements in France have drained available supplies in that country, and the present as well as the future needs of France are already causing worry to French officials. After careful study of the situation it was found that freights and insurance in transit were prohibitive, or nearly so, at present, but that when abnormal ocean-carrying conditions are removed, a promising market in France will open for Canadian cattle.

When the question was brought up in France, and especially in Normandy. Canada was looked to at once as the most likely country from which imports could be made. Already on two occasions, similar transactions have been carried out. About twenty years ago two cattle feeders had come to an understanding to bring cattle from Canadas their scheme gave them the profit upon which they had counted. In 1912, the importation carried out by Canadian dealers without sufficient care to make sure of a market, was a failure financially, but the animals brought over had been declared of excellent quality. (more…)

White Paper Series – Volume IV, Issue 3 – June 2021

In Margaret Leach’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Reveille in Washington, 1860-1865, the author mentions that Mother Bickerdyke was part of the Grand Review of the Armies in 1865, the celebratory parade marking the end of hostilities in the Civil War. Who was this heroine of the Union army whose honorary title made no reference to her marital status, something that would have been a particular anomaly in 19th century America? The most cursory Google search indicated monuments to her memory in Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Probing a bit more, I discovered that there had been multiple books written about her devotion to wounded soldiers, but many were written with such sentimentality that they didn’t seem particularly trustworthy as source material. Turning to Accessible Archives with its wealth of contemporary newspapers and other collections allowed me to get past the language of Gilded Age memoirs and discover the truth of Bickerdyke’s remarkable gift for logistics in wartime. (more…)

At the turn of nineteenth century America, debilitating illness and death were as common for children and young adults as for elders with life expectancy hovering between 30-40 years of age. Now-curable diseases represented serious threats if left untreated. Accidents occurred frequently and treatment options limited considering that bandages were unsterile rags or old clothes.

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