Seeking the Upper Hand, 1892-93
Author | C. Ian Kyer |
Pages | 31-46 |
Chapter
SEEKINGTHEUPPERHAND
contentious and protracted bid process was William Tyndale
Jennings, the City engi neer. He left the City’s employ in late September and
became a consultant Whet her he grew tired of the secondguessing a nd
suggestionsthathistenderprocesshadbeenawedorhewaspushedout
by the mayor and the other opponents of the private sector franchisee is
unc lear.
HewasreplacedbyfortyfouryearoldGranvilleCarlyleCunningham
who was appointed as acting City engineer at a specia l meeting of city council
onOctober Cunningham was an exceptionally bright assistant engineer
with t he City.HehadearlierworkedfortheCanadianPacicRailwayCPR
andhadauthoredanimpressivereportonsnowslidesintheSelkirkMoun
tains.OneofhisrsttasksasCityengineerwastoinvestigatehowbestto
electrify t he street railwayFor two weeks in late he toured various
locations in the United States where electric cars were in operation, includ
ing Bualo Cleveland Pisburgh Allegheny Washington DC Newark
Albany and Boston He also visited New Yorkand Orange New Jersey
hometoEdisonslaboratoriesOnhisreturnhepresentedthemayorand
citycouncilwithathoroughwellconsideredreportHeevaluatedtheuse
of cable propulsion as well as three forms of electric propulsion — storage
baeryundergroundorsurfaceconduitandoverheadwireHequicklydis
missed the use of cable cars. For about a decade the cable car system had
been widely used with installations in two dozen cities in the United States
AThirtyYearsWar
includingChicagobutbyitwasindeclineItsinstallationcallingas
it did for a system of buried cable with pulleys, sheaves, and drive wheels,
was much more expensive than an electrical system. Its maintenance and
operation was also more costly. It was best suited for a city with a much lar
ger population than Toronto or a city with steep hills, like San Franci sco. He
had found that the most widely used and the most practical system was the
overhead wire system of the kind that had been tested and proven at the To
rontoExhibitioninthesTheoverheadwiresystemwasalsofavoured
by the new franchisee. Any hopes, however, that Engineer Cunningham’s
report would result in the adoption of the franchisee’s proposed solution
provedshortlivedThenewyearbroughtanewmayorwhowasopposed
AboutthetimethatCunninghamwasissuinghisreportMayorClarke
madeitknownthathewouldnotseekafthtermbecausehewantedtofocus
on provincial politics. Four candidates put their names forward to replace
ClarkeJohnMcMillanJamesBeatyRJFlemingandEdmondBOsler
FlemingandOslerweretheleadingcontendersandtheywereaninterest
ing contrast. Fleming was a reformer and supporter of organized labour
in the tradition of Mayor Howlandwit h extensivec ivic experience hav
ingservedasanaldermanforthreeyearsFleminghaddecided
to seek the mayoralty in the hope of introducing a number of changes to
City Hall, including a businessl ike approach to council.Osleralsowanteda
businesslikeapproachbuthehadadierentideaofwhatthatentailedHe
was a Conservative nancier and businessma n with extensive experience
with railways. A member of Toronto’s moneyed elite and of one of the city’s
most prominent families, he had helped fund the Win nipeg Street Railway,
theCPRandtheOntarioandQuebecRailway
The support for these two leading candidates split along management/
labourlinesOslerwassupportedbyabusinessallianceorganizedbyGold
winSmithandWRBrock while t he Knights of Labour supported Fleming.
WhileFlemingwaspraisedbyorganizedlabourforhisevenhandedness
andsupportforthepublicgoodOslerwasthoughttohavemoreincom
mon with the owners of the new franchise than with its riders. Known as
thePeoplesBobFlemingwasseenasamoreeectivespokesmanforthe
transit users who were largely made up of working men and women who
werenotabletoaordtheirownhorseandbuggyTheKnightsofLabour
alsopointedoutthatOslerhadseveralconictsofinterestTheOntarioand
Quebec Railway that he was funding was being sued by t he City over its re
movalofitsCreditValleyworkshopsinbreachofanagreementunderwhich
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