Gateway City: Documents on the City of Winnipeg 1873–1913 ed. by Alan F.J. Artibise (review)

REVIEWS 95 Gateway City: Documents ontheCityofWinnipeg ß873-•9 •3. EditedbyA•,• g.J. ARTm•SE. ManitobaRecordSociety Publications, Volumev.Winnipeg,Universityof ManitobaPress, •979. PP.xiv,•88, illus.$2•.5o. This volumeis a collection of documents relatingto the development of Winnipegin itsperiodof steady andspectacular expansion. The documents consistof civic reports, promotionalliterature, and excerptsfrom the contemporary press. They are preceded byan explanatory introduction of twentypages.The main themeof the volumeis that Winnipegin the •873-•9• 3 periodwasdominated bya commercial •lite whowereobsessed withtheideaofexpansion andnotoverly concerned withthewelfare oftheless fortunateelements in society. A numberof documents throwlightuponthecharacter of thecommercial •liteandthecampaign forprogress whichtheyinspired andsupported. Thus abookleton TheCityofWinnipeg-theCapital ofManitoba (•886) tracedtherise of Winnipegandmadeenthusiastic predictions aboutitsfuture.A brochure issued by the WesternCanadianImmigrationAssociation (•9o4), whichwas strongly supported byWinnipeg business men,indicated theirconcern forthe expansion of western population. The reportof theWestern Development IndustrialBureau outlinedthe effortsof the business communityto attract newindustry.An illuminating articlein the Winnipeg Telegram of •9 January •9•o gavebiographical sketches of someseventeen allegedmillionaires, including J.A.M. Aikins,J.H. Ashdown,E.L. Drewry, A.M. Nanton.The economic activities of these business leaders werediversified (lumber,grain, hardware) but all had done well out of real estate. Other documents throw light on the livesof lessaffluentelementsin Winnipeg society. Theseinclude a pamphlet fromtheWinnipeg Tradesand LabourCouncil(•896), a reporton thedangerous stateof thecity's sanitary arrangements (•9o4),andadescription oftheorganization andworkoftheAll Pesopies' Mission (•9o9). The volume concludes with an excerpt oftwenty-four pages fromtheCanadian Annual Review for •9•• tracing Winnipeg's progress intheprevious fortyyears andlooking forwardtogreater achievements inthe future. The bookbringsout wellthe buoyantoptimismof the Winnipegbusiness community, butit gives a restricted pictureof lifeinWinnipeg, concentrating inlargepartontheveryrichandthecomparatively poor.Material inregard to otherelements in Winnipeg society - doctors, lawyers, teachers, andclergy wouldhaveproduced a moreroundedpicture.References tocultureandto the role of the churches are few. Withinthelimitssetbytheauthor,however, thevolume throws agooddeal oflightontheeconomic andsocial devlopment ofthecity.It isauseful addition to Professor Artibise's writings on Winnipegandto thegeneralliteratureof Canadian urbandevelopment. D.C.MASTERS Guelph ...