The Cadet Movement in the Moment of Canadian Militarism, 1909–1914

The Cadet Movement in the Moment ofCanadian Militarism, 1909-1914 DESMOND MORTON There was, Carl Berger has demonstrated, a strong current of militarism in the collection of ideas cherished by Canadian imperialists in the years before the First World War.1 Like much else that is examined through the history of ideas, its impact on Canadian reality might easily be exaggerated. Even so far as it existed among the imperialists, militarism was a liability more than an asset among the unmilitary Canadians. The bellicose image of George Taylor Denison or of Sam Hughes was worth a dozen J.S. Ewarts in prodding Canadian isolationism. Canadian militarism in its pre-1914 spasm was by no means without consequences. Its most explicit expression, the Canadian Defence League, failed miserably only months before the outbreak of war. The "great game," as W.H. Merritt described the struggle for Universal Military Training,2 was lost before it began. However, the mood of militarism helped create an atmosphere conducive to the greatest peacetime expansion and modernization of Canada's military forces. It contributed to the political mood which brought the Conservatives to power in 1911. Above all, through the cadet movement, it established military training virtually throughout the Canadian educational system. By 1914, the cadet movement in Canada involved more than three times as many youngsters as its contemporary, the Boy Scout movement .3 Thanks to the Strathcona Trust, six out of nine provinces had signed formal agreements with Ottawa to allow the Militia Department to conduct military training in the schools. Two other provinces had given their tacit consent. Even in Quebec, both the Catholic and the Protestant school committees had become full participants. Such was the prevailing mood that this federal intrusion on a cherished provincial 56 domain had provoked no constitutional objection .4 Apart from a brief reference by Berger, historical recollection of this development is virtually non-existent. J.L. Granatstein and the late J.M. Hitsman could recently publish a book on conscription in Canada without so much as a reference to the compulsory training of school children.5 _In education history, references to cadets have been excised with an almost deliberate thoroughness worthy of 1984. The only serious attempt at a biography of J.L. Hughes, archexponent of the movement, allows only a single passing reference to his interest in drill. Yet Hughes's crusade for cadet training was at least as prominent in his career as his campaigns for art, music and kindergartens or his advocacy of votes for women.6 Debates about education matter not only because of their practical consequences for schools and the young but because they allow adults to express their social ideals. Through the shaping of the young, we can hope to redeem the failure of the real world. The ideas which found a focus in cadet training were a dramatic challenge to the liberal isolationism which dominated the Canadian world-view through most of the post-Confederation years. Even more significant was the influence of those ideas in the rapid implementation of a juvenile military training system which extended throughout the country. The roots of the cadet movement in Canada existed before Confederation. Like most of the country's more durable military institutions, cadet organization dated from the excitement of the Trent affair and the eagerness of Canadians of all ages and most localities to drill and put on uniforms. In 1861, militia regulations allowed the formation of volunteer rifle companies in schools and colleges.7 A year later, drill associations were authorized. Toronto's Queen's Own Rifles recruited companies in the city's universities and colleges: one such company suffered casualties at the disastrous engagement near Ridgeway in 1866.s Boys at the Montreal High School formed a cadet corps under the inspiration of their physical training instructor, Major F.S. Barnjum. To their disappointment, the boys were never summoned for active service Revue d'etudes canadiennes Vol. 13, No. 2 (Ete 1978 Summer) during the crises of the 1860s.9 Even before warlike excitement could inspire cadet organizations, the idea of physical training in the schools had taken a military cast. Arguing for a programme of gymnastic instruction in...