Politics more than a “Hill” of beans in 1916

the total prohibition of liquor traffic in the province which included making it an offense to consume intoxicating liquor as a beverage.

It was alleged that the province itself did not have this power.

The result of public sentiment eventually forced the House of Commons to pass the Doherty Act.

This act makes it “an offence for a Railway Company, Express Company, or other common carriers, to bring intoxicating liquor into a Prohibition Province.”

Folks in town were only taxed if they had a telephone. The Conservatives proposed to treat everyone alike and have the phone systems owned by the government. Their upkeep should not be at the cost of the farmers who just happened to own the land on which the poles stood; rather, the province should be paying.

Farmers who had phones in Alberta paid far less than their counterparts in Saskatchewan.

Voters were encouraged to vote for James Hill, a local farmer and rancher nominated to serve the Lloydminster constituency for the Conservative Party.

He sought votes for the June 26 (circa 1916) election.

Newspapers had previously included infor - mation about the Conservative Party platform; Hill wanted to share his thoughts on what he felt were issues of vital importance to the future of Saskatchewan.

He raised the question about a recently circulated Liberal pamphlet titled, Facts vs. Fiction concerning the teaching of English in schools.

“The law provides that every school shall be taught English and that every teacher shall be qualified to teach English…With this law is there any danger that our children of all nationalities will not learn English?”

Hill was in favour of English being the only language taught in the schools and noted that it was not being enforced by the provincial government.

The Minister of Municipalities, the Honorable George Langley stated, “I am in favour of foreign languages being taught in the schools of Saskatchewan.”

A number of districts identified schools, where English was not being taught, were essentially breaking the law.

Some of the inspectors of the school districts who were employed by the Department of Education were accused of not enforcing this law.

Hill also stood for

Interestingly, the motion to make Saskatchewan a prohibition province was defeated by 47 Liberals against seven Conservatives.

The electors themselves voted in 1916 against total provincial prohibition.

The tax system for telephones was rather unfair during this time in history.

Farmers were heavily taxed per quarter section, whether they had a phone or not, if their land bordered a telephone pole.

The conditions of roads and bridges plus their maintenance was also discussed. Hill proposed that 75 per cent of the cost of all trunk roads and their maintenance, plus 25 per cent of all lateral roads should be paid from the provincial revenues.

James Hill felt he could help farmers in the Lloydminster constituency as he had vast agricultural experience.

Hill had firsthand experience with the growing conditions of Western Canada and felt changes needed to be made to benefit Saskatchewan’s future.