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But in April there was a strike. This proved very difficult to settle and lasted for eight months!

It will be realized of course, that much of the construction and development recounted above, was at this stage very incomplete, especially with regard to the coke ovens and more expensive machinery, which had to be installed. But in their anxiety to benefit from the waiting markets, and to bring the whole operation into smooth top production, management decided to continue construction during the strike, which meant without the revenue of coal production. To do this, they added to their loan from the Union Bank, a fairly large floating mortgage with the
Imperial Bank.

The strike was a disastrous blow and from this time on, nothing turned out favorably for the struggling operation. The C.P.R. had to find other sources for coal for their engines, and when the mine was able to produce again, they had given contracts to other companies. New markets were developed slowly and with difficulty. At this time when tempers were short a quarrel developed between the president of Leitch Collieries and the Superintendent of the C.P.R., which greatly hindered a resumption of the good business relations formerly obtaining between them. This was a very serious situation — for a market was critical, and the C.P.R. being the only railway in the Pass, was in a power position, both in the supplying of scarce railway cars for loading, and giving orders for the only steam engines which ran through the Pass. The American copper market had at this time, as they say "turned soft", which reduced the coke requirements. But a good contract for coke was obtained in the Balkans. Thirty-five of the ovens were put into production to supply this business, and a major effort made to increase coal sales, as coal had to be produced in order to supply the slack for processing coke.

Then Malcolm Leitch, the Company president, who had been financing his flour mills in Oak Lake, Manitoba, through the same Imperial Bank, as the Leitch Collieries, got into trouble with the bank there. Considerable effort was made to obtain another president who would have favorable connections and influence with the C.P.R. as well as with the bank, but it was too late. Each bank vied with the other in trying to avoid advancing more money and in trying to be top dog on collections. Finally the Imperial Bank became obdurate and at the most inopportune time called in their loan.

About this time relations with the miners became very tense. Shearer, the young pay clerk was shot at. Some of the men had continued to work, and amongst other things had manned the pumps in the mine, and also kept it well ventilated. But some were so afraid of being shot at or dynamited in bed, that they lined their bunk walls with stone or other protection. Getting the next pay into some of these men became a problem. Shearer refused to try it. William Hamilton who always had the utmost confidence in his children, said, "Jessie will take it in." So riding her Shetland pony by the back road from town, in to the mine, she encountered the pickets at the narrow gully. "Where are you going?" they asked. "To the mine", she innocently replied. This did not seem unusual to them for she was continually seen in the mine with her father or around the plant outside. They patted her pony, gave her some candy, and the pay went through.

Efforts had been made to sell coke in the United States and so there was a connection for taking out alternative finance. A long term loan was negotiated and the money was to come through in about two-weeks time. In August, 1914, war broke out and it soon became evident that the coke contract in the Balkans, was in jeopardy. When this happened the American financiers sent word to see them when the war was over. Had the war been delayed another two weeks, this money would have come through and the rest of this story could have been very different.

This article is extracted from Crowsnest and its People: Millennium Edition (Coleman, Alberta, Crowsnest Pass Historical Society, 2000.) The Heritage Community Foundation and the Year of the Coal Miner Consortium would like to thank the authors and the Crowsnest Pass Historical Society for permission to reprint this material.

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