Dr Arthur Samuel Kendall, His Life and Times as a Medical Doaor, Politician and Citizen of Cape Breton Island, 1861-1944. Moira Ross 01998 Thesis submitted in Confonnity with the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts. Saint Mary's University Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 1998. National Library Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OtîawaON K1AON4 OttawaON K 1 A W Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pemettant à la National Librafy of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distri'bute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfom, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfichelnlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts f?om it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Abstract submitted by: Moira Ross 1st. April 1998 Dr. Arthur Samuel Kendall, His Life and Times as a Medical Doctor, Politician and Citizen of Cape Breton Island, 1861-1944. Dr. Arthur Samuel Kendall was bom in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on 25 March 1861 when Sydney was a tranquii market centre and garrison town built on the south-east shore of Sydney harbour. He lived most of his long life in Sydney and he died there in 1944. This thesis appiies the biographical study of Kendall's life to the history of Cape Breton in an era which has most often been portrayeci in relation to unmpulous industriaiists. militant unions and ambivalent govemments. Beginning in 1893 with the consolidation of ownership and leases in the local coal fields many areas in Cape Breton Island experienced an increase in industry and commerce with the expansion of coal mining and the subsequent establishment of the iron and steel industries. This rapid increase in industry and population not only caused a period of relative prosperity in the industrial area, but ais0 ueated problems of rurai depopulation, disease, overcrowding, hazardous workplaces and industrial unrest. Kendall was active in trying to aileviate many of these social problems as an elected politician. public health offiaal and family doctor. The study of not only the public areas of Kendall's career, but also the religious, social, cultural, professional and politicai influences whidi shaped his ideology and actions provides an insight into Kendall's motivation and his effectiveness as an agent of change. The biographicai method, juxtapused against anecdotal and historical evidence, further combines to enrich the understanding of the history of this period. The historical significance of Dr. Arthur Samuel Kendall lies in his position as an influentid member of the professional niiddie class. one who had an innate ability to act as a conduit between the working class and the industrialists in order to produce change that wouid benefit the entire community. Acknowledgments. The research and writing of this thesis was assisted by a collaborative group of £rien&, mentors, and informants. My route to the Atlantic Canada Studies program at Saint Mary's began with the Heritage Studies Certificate at the University Colîege of Cape Breton, and continued with a Bachelor of Community Studies degree. Throughout my years at UCCB the professors and staff were consistently supportive, as were the faculty and staff at Saint Mary's UniversiW. 1 am particularly grateful to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Colin Howell, who guided me towards realising a more complete manuscript. Always cooperative were the staff of the University libraries at Saint Mary's in Halifax and the Universisr College of Cape Breton in Sydney. The staff at the Public Archives of Nova Scotia and at the UCCB Beaton Institute in Sydney were also consistently helpful. The support and friendship of fellow students in the Atlantic Canada Studies programme and at UCCB demonstrated a m e c oiïegial spirit. In the Cape Breton community John Campbeil at the Cam Breton Post Arthur Kendall's nephew John Kendall, and Ron Caplan of 7 P g M a e e we re among the Sydney residents who shared their knowledge of Kendall with me. Throughout my University studies 1 was the recipient of a number of scholarships and fdowships at UCCB and Saint Mary's. These awards assisted me fînâncidly; and this fom of recognition by various scholarship cornmittees gave me the encouragement and confidence to continue. In a letter iriforming me that 1 was the reapient of the 1996 Donald HigginsrM ernorial Scholarship at Saint Mary's, Dr. Colin HoweU wrote; "I am sure that you will commit yourself to your work in Atlantic Canada Studies in the spirit of dedication and social responsibility that was the haltmark of Donald Higgins' inspiring life." The Higgins' Sch01arship and the example of Higgins' life did motivate me to persevere, and his legacy wiil continue to inspire me. Finaiiy, to my fnends and family in Scotland and Nova Scotia, and especially my children and my husband, 1 give my heartfelt thanks for patience, love and support. Dr Arthur Samuel Kendall, His Life and Times as a Medical Doctor, Politician and Citizen of Cape Breton Island, 1861-1944. Table of Contents Preface. Introduction. Infïuences. The Medical Career of Dr Arthur Samuel Keddl. The Political Career of Dr. Arthur Samue1 Kendall. KenM and the 1925 Royal Commission on Cod in Nova Scotia. Conclusioa Primary sources. Secondary Sources. Preface Arthur Samuel Kendall, the subject of this thesis, was bom on the 25 th. of March 1 86 1 in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, when the community was a smd market centre and garrison town. He died there on 18 July 1944. In the years between 1 880 and 1929 many districts on Cape Breton Island experienced rapid industrialisation and expansion, a brief interval of optimism and relative economic prosperity, which was ultimately followed by devastating deindustrialisation and depopulation from which the local economy has never fully recovered. Kendall was an active public figure in both politics and health care during this era of development and growth and he lived on to wimess its dec1ine.l l~eeJ. G. Mackmon, Old SY- (Sydney, NS: Old Sydney Sodety, ed 1989): Brian Tennyson, ed. m y s i n Cam Breton History (Windsor,N S: Lancelot Press, 1973): Robert J. Morgan, ed More Essays in Cme Breton Histoq Windsor, NS: Lancelot Press, 1977): Kenneth Donovan, ed Q~CEEJQII at 7.00; 1 785-19 85 (Sydney,N S: UCCB me Press, 1985): Kenneth Donovan, ed. m d : N ew Pwswctives in C a Breton Historv. 17 1 3-199Q. (Fredericton, NB: Acadiensis Press, 1990): Brian Tennyson, ed Impressipns of Cane Rretop (Sydney, NS: UCCB Press, 1986): Don MacGillivrây and Brian Tennyson, eds. Çêw Breton f I i s t o m ( Sydney, NS: UCCB Press, 1980): Ron Caplan, ed Q , g m h & , a & ~ . (Wredc Cove, NS, Cape Breton's Magazine.): Benjamin H. D. Buchloh and Robert WWe, eds., er Pictures . 1948-1968: A Selec drlen Studio Glace Bay (Halifax, NS: Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and UCCB Press, 1983) for general histories of this era. In 1903 the Newspamr Reference Book of Canada described Arthur Samuel Kendall as "a Eree-trader and a radical" and an eariier alrnanac referred to him thus: "inp olitics he is a liberal and a reformer."Z In their article "The Emergence of the Socialist Movement in the Maritimes, 1899-1916,'D'a vid Frank and Nolan Reiily discuss the beghmhg and the extent of the socialist movement in the Maritimes as a part of their challenge to the established view in Canadian historiography of a pervasive Maritime "conservatism."3 There has b e n an entrenched conservatism but there has also been a long tradition of radicalism and refom in parts of the Maritimes. Protests sudi as the escheat movement in Prince Edward Island and the Caraquet Riots of 1875 are early examples of radical reform recorded throughout the history of the region.4 Arnong the early proponents of progressive social reform in the Maritimes were a number of middle-class intellectuals in the 1890s who, at the advent of an era of a rapidly expanding industrial economy, were cognisant of the negative effects that unregulated capitalism and poorly planned industrialisation had caused in Britain and the United States. - - 2 2 (Toronto: The Press Publishing Company Lùnited, 1903)., Emest J. Chambers, e d C w-P 1909 (Ottawa:T he Mortimer Company, 1909). 3~avidF rank and Noian Reüly, "The Emergence of the Socialist Movement in the Maritimes, 1899-1916," kbour/Le Trava No 4 (1978) 85-1 13. 4~fculcisW . P. Bolger, "The Demise of Qpit Rents and Esdieat, 1824-1842." st Province (Canada:T he Prince Edward Island Cent- Commjssion, 1973). 95-114: George Stanley, "The Caraquet Rio6 of 1875," After CoPfedeEatjPP. Phillip A. Buckner and David A. Frank, eds. (Fredericton, NB: Acadiensis Press, 1988.) 66-83. see Ernest R. F. o.r bes, e R e m S tereo :J Savs on 20th. Cen--h! (Fredericton, NB: Acadiensis, 1989). They were equally concerned about their negative impact on the social welfare of the workers and the& families in the Maritimes.5 This era of rapid change also dernanded the development of new stnictures and new systems to deal with the stresses on public and social services. Two significant responses to this need were the progressive reform movement and increased professionalisation, especidy in public health, medicine, law and urban planning.6 Neither progressive reform nor professionalisation were homogenous movements, but were rather an assortment of associations which artidated and interpreted the need for social reform in their own way. The most influential of the progressive reform organisations was the Social Gospel movement, an arm of the Christian churches, which portrayed Christ not merely as an icon, but as a social reformer. The doctrine of individual groups within the Social Gospel varied. Both temperance and prohibition were advocated as well as other aspects of sociaî and moral reform. Those who sought an increased professionaiisation in medicine were less concemed with direct social reform than they were with the regulation and acceptance of their specialised profession, the recognition of their particular expertise and the irnplementation of stringent public health enforcement? 5~avidF rank and Nolan ReilIy, 86-87. ,6 Robert H. Wiebe me SwchF or Wer 1877-197Q. New York: Hill and Wang, 1967: Don S. Kùschner, The Pmdox of Professio- a 1900-194Q. (New York Greenwood Press, me 1986):W üliam H. Wilson, City Beautifid M o v w (Baltimore: University of John Hopkins Press, 1989). 7~olinH oweli. "Industry, Urbanization and Reform." The Amtic Provinces ip deration. eds. West R Forbes and Del Muise (Toronto: University of Progressive reform and professionalisation were however interconnecteci. Many of the middle dass profession& were also members of the Christian churches and they embraced the doctrine and innuence of the Social Gospel. Arthur Samuel Kendall, like many members of this rising professional middle class, was motivated more by his social conscience than by a desire for persona1 gain fkom his profession.8 At the dawning of the new century Kendall was tnily a 'twentieth century man' - a member of the professional middle-c1ass armed with an extensive education and a strong desire for social reform. This crucial period in Cape Breton Island's history has most often been portrayed in relation to the wealthy and powerful upper- dass, to a few unscrupulous industrialists, to militant unions and ambivalent govenunents. In her book Ferndell, named for the Sydney mansion where she lived as a child, Phyllis Worgan Schneider expresses her opinion that little has been written about the afnuent residents who had "wealtha nd social background," those "whose lives were filled with so much more than work, square ciances etc."g There are local histories as weïi as published and - - - - - .- - - - - Toronto Press, 1993) 55-191: Ernest R. Forbes. "Prohibition and the Social Gospel." Atlantic Canada After Codederation. eds. P W p Buckner and David Frank (Fredericton, NB: Acadiensis Press, 1980). 280-305: Richard Allen. The Sodal Passion: RelQion and Social Reform in Canada 1914 -1928, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 197 1). Colin D. Howell. "Reform and the Monopolistic Impulse: The Professionaüzation of Mediane in the Maririmes." 8~0bertW iebe, 115-11 7. -. 9phyLLis Worgan Schneider. (Sydney,N S: City Printers, 1979.).