28 
Land & Water 
A ugust 15, 1918 
three days she and her sister ship the Empress of Asia guarded 
the British port at Aden, until they were reheved by British 
warships. Theft her gun crews made some excellent practice 
on the Arabian port of Salif, also on the Red Sea. A party 
had been sent ashore under the white flag to demand sur- 
render. The Turks were defiant, and in effect told the 
Empress of Russia to do her worst. She did, and when she 
left the town and fort were in ruins. 
The British and French Consuls at the port of Hodeidah 
had been kidnapped by the Turks and taken into the interior 
of Arabia. The Empress of Russia steamed into tlie harbour, 
and the Turks were told that Hodeidah would shortly 
cease to be if the •' 
Cpnsuls were 
not brought back. 
After a wait of 
some days, the 
captured officials 
were brought back 
safely to the coast, 
and were taken 
on the Empress 
of Russia, which 
steamed away to 
more adventures. 
The Empress -of 
Russia helped the 
Empress of Asia, 
the Empress of 
Japan, the cruiser 
Himalaya, and 
the destroyer Rih- 
ble to maintain 
a blockade off 
the port of Mani- 
la, where fifteen 
German steamers 
were lurking dur- 
ing the early days 
of the war, hoping 
for a chance to get 
out and deliver 
the cargoes of sup- 
plies destined for 
German warships. 
Finally, after / 
about a year spent in Eastern waters, the Empress of Russia 
came back into her regular service on the Pacific. 
Within a few months of the outbreak of war it became 
evident that Great Britain was unable to manufacture by 
herself sufficient shells to keep pace with the immense demands 
for ammunition. Canada up to that time had no shell- 
manufacturing plant ; but once more the Canadian Pacific 
led the way, and the first shells made in Canada were turned 
out at the Angus Shops. The earliest intimation that such 
shells would be required was received on January nth, 1915. 
The first press was completely assembled and tested on 
.the 31st of that month — all the designs and patterns being 
made on the spot in addition to the machinery and con- 
struction. Since that date five hydraulic presses of 322 tons 
capacity have been built at the Angus Shops, in addition to 
eleven 800-ton presses for heading cartridge cases. 
It was at the Canadian Pacific shops that the first large 
experiment was madle in the "dilution" of labour, by using 
women, where possible, to relieve the shortage of male 
labour ; and it was at the Angus Shops that women workers 
were first induced to "don the breeches" — an innovation in 
dress which has contributed materially tq the popularity of 
such work among Canadian women. 
The engineering skill of Canadian Pacific employees was 
turned, to good effect in other directions. Lieutenant-Colonel 
C. W. P. Ramsey, formerly Engineer in charge of Construc- 
tion, organised and went overseas in command of a Railway 
Construction Corps recruited from the ranks of Canadian 
railwaymen, and consisting of 20 officers and 503 men of 
other ranks. 
On the outbreak of war. Great Britain and the Allies 
found it necessary to purchase large supplies of food-stuffs 
and Army supplies in Canada, and both the British and 
Canadian Governments foimd themselves seriously handi- 
capped, through lack of experience, in the problem of con- 
trolling and furnishing the shipping necessary to transport 
such Canadian produce to Europe at reasonable cost. In 
order to provide these Governments with the experts skilled 
in the highly technical work of chartering ships and handling 
such problems, the Canadian Pacific Railway lent the services 
of Mr. (now Sir) Arthur H. Harris, Special Traffic Repre- 
sentative and right-hand m^n to the Vice-President in 
charge of Traffic, together with thirty^other picked officers: 
of the Company, to look after such charters and transport. 
These were given power to control shipments for export 
over all lines, and owing to their able administration millions 
of dollars were saved by economical chartering of ships, 
and by a distribution and direction of traffic which eliminated 
the possibility of Congestion and enabled the shipments to be 
cleared the moment they arrived at the port to which they 
were consigned. 
The great disturbance to Canadian industry caused by the 
outbreak of war naturally threw a large number of men out 
of work, and the question of unemployment became one of 
the most serious 
which Canada had 
to face. At such 
a- time it would 
only have been 
natural [for the- 
Canadian Pacific 
to reduce its staff ; 
but, so far from 
doing this, the- 
Company decided - 
to find employ- 
ment for 6,000 
additional men" in 
order to tide'over 
the period of un- 
employment until 
industrial condi- 
tions should be 
'adjusted. In se- 
lecting these 6,000 
extra labourers, 
care was taken to 
see that relief was 
given only to those 
races which were 
fighting on the 
side of the Allies. 
Foreigners had to 
provide a consular^- 
certificate proving 
'heir country of 
origin. 
So far, therefore, 
as the Canadian Pacific employees were concerned, it was 
not fear of unemployment that induced them to enlist. 
Nevertheless, over 7,000 up to the end of 1917 had 
decided voluntarily to go into the firing line ; of whom 
by March ist, 1918, the casualty lists showed 592 killed 
and 1,326 wounded. In recognition of this patriotic 
spirit, the Canadian Pacific decided to allow six months' full 
pay to each employee enlisting and to let it be understood 
that on his return to Canada such employee would be taken 
back into the service. The presence of so many railwaj-men 
in the ranks has proved of great service to the efficiency of 
the Canadian Army, owing to the part that light railways - 
have played on the Western Front. 
The general question of dealing with the returned soldiers ■ 
has not been overlooked by the Canadian Pacific, and land 
has been set aside for 1,000 farms of 160 acres each, grouped 
in communities, so that the soldiers who take up these farms 
may begin work under expert supervision. A large number 
of these farms have already been prepared for occupation, 
so that when the great army of veterans returns, the pre- 
liminary work of building houses and fences, and giving the 
first necessary cultivation of the soil, will already have been 
completed. Under the plan, a soldier-settler will be given a 
comfortable house of four or five rooms, a barn large enough 
to house eight or ten head of stock, a well with a pump 
installed, wire -fences stretched and in place, and land ready 
for cultivation. 
This plan represents the expenditure of £700,000 for 
preparation alone. It means the building of 1,000 houses 
and 1,000 barns, 1,300 miles of fence, digging 1,000 wells, 
and getting some 50,000 acres of land under cultivation. It 
is estimated that 20,000,000 feet of lumber will be required. 
All these . war-time activities have required large resources 
of capital ; but, owing to careful prevision, the Canadian 
Pacific was in an excellent financial position to care for the 
unprecedented calls made upon its purse. Since the war 
began, the Company had invested up to the end of 1917, 
in loans and guarantees in one form or another to the Allied 
nations, upwards of no less than $So,ooo,ooo — probably the 
largest individual contribution made by any industrial enter- 
prise in the British Empire in the financial support of this 
great war for democracy. 
The C.P.R. Bridge of Vanceboro 
An account ot Werner Horn's attempt to destroy this bridge appeared in Land & Water, April iith. 
