File

This file chronicles the re-establishment of the Canadian Patriotic Fund (CPF) during the First World War. This fund was used to provide assistance to the families of Canadian soldiers who went to fight with the Allies in Europe. More specifically, it documents the administration, financial management and fundraising activities of the Montreal branch of this federally incorporated pan-Canadian organization, and the involvement of John Wardrop Ross, its honorary treasurer. The file is composed primarily of correspondence, as well as financial and accounting records (statements, extracts of books of account, etc.), memos, excerpts from minutes, a print copy of a piece of legislation, and an amendment. The correspondence includes typewritten copies of letters written by John Wardrop Ross, along with copies and originals of letters from various correspondents, chiefly members of various CPF committees and branches, the accounting firm of Creak, Crushing & Hodgson, and the Bank of Montreal. A button with the CPF insignia is pinned on a letter from T. P. Tansey, a supplier of fundraising materials. There are also telegrams, cards, subscription forms and receipts. The file covers much of the Montreal CPF branch's existence, during and after the war, and even goes beyond its dissolution in 1923, encompassing the period January 14, 1915, to November 14, 1924.

The documents in the file reveal the internal organization of the Montreal CPF branch, which was included a finance committee, in charge of fundraising, a relief committee, for supporting families, and a Franco-Belgian subcommittee. The file chronicles the CPF's fundraising campaigns, including the one undertaken jointly with the Red Cross in 1917. Several communications are about the donations received, some of which were in the form of bonds. A few missives discuss the challenges that sometimes arise when trying to collect the promised funds. The correspondence also documents the connections between the Montreal branch and the organization's head office in Ottawa and other local branches, notably in the form of periodic financial reports. Some communications refer to discussions between the head office and the Montreal branch with regard to the local redistribution of the funds collected from Montreal donors. Helen R. Y. Reid, who was very active in the Montreal relief committee, expresses differing views from the Hamilton branch with regard to the question of how much to allocate to soldiers' wives who work. In fact, the Hamilton branch encouraged these women to work, while the Montreal branch advised them to stay home to care for their young children. Much of the file chronicles the Montreal CPF branch's post-war activities in its capacity as the Federal Emergency Appropriation Department, which was in charge of providing assistance to former servicemen who were unable to obtain employment. Finally, several communications document the administrative and financial operations related to dissolving the Montreal CPF branch.