Me – a little news
Quebec — 1) 1896, euphoric year
An invention is announced almost every week. Or a discovery. X-rays. Color photography. The escalator. The wireless telegraph. The blood pressure monitor for measuring blood pressure.
The good old gramophone is also reinventing itself. Make way for the “graphophone,” a device that can record! There will even be a presentation session at the town hall…
In December, a certain Svante Arrhenius made another amazing discovery: the greenhouse effect. The Swede predicts that carbon dioxide emissions caused by human activities will lead to warming global temperatures.
Except that Mr. Arrhenius thinks this is very good news! (1)
2) “Electric” when is it?
There has been a horse-drawn tram in Quebec City since 1865. But the arrival of electricity changed everything. Starting in 1880, large cities replaced the “horse tram” with the “electric” tram. Montreal has had its own since 1892.
When is Quebec's turn? The capital is slowly following suit. She hesitates. In August 1896, work finally began on what we called “electric.” A year later the first wagons ran.
As we wait for the big departure, work is disrupting the landscape. The citizens grumble. On November 29th, the local council announced the demolition of the Porte Saint-Jean, whose two arches were too narrow to allow the “stream” to pass through.*
Another reason for concern. The tram travels at 12 km/h. A speed that many already find “dizzying”. (2)
3) Where is the church? The church is everywhere!
On November 24, the priest of Saint-Sauveur denounced the spread of illegal bars and brothels in the lower city. (3) Furthermore, the places of “doom” are easily identified. They usually hang a “red beacon” over the door.
At the end of the year, the Church banned the reading of the newspaper “Le Soleil” (see Section III “Don’t Miss”). At the same time, she attacked literature and “immoral” engravings from France. Customs officials burn numerous photos. They also confiscated several French newspapers that were considered disreputable!
Despite everything, the world and times change. In the United States, women have just gained the right to vote in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Just the thought of it gives many bishops nightmares…
4) The Spirit of Saint-Roch!
Every evening in summer, curious people gather in front of a grocery store in the Saint-Roch district. As night falls, a ghost appears outside a second floor window. Every time, frightened people start screaming. Others faint.
At the end of September the miracle wears off. We discover that it is the simple reflection of an electric lamp! Electricity is a new thing. With unknown effects… (4)
II – EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT IT
1) The Age of Speed
Thanks to improvements in steam engines, crossing the Atlantic has never been so fast. Within a few months, 30 hours of travel will be saved.
The “Dampf” Canada sails at 17 knots or 31 km/h! Under ideal conditions, the Liverpool-Quebec trip can be completed in less than six days! Nothing to do with the crossings in Champlain's time, which could take three months!
The trains also run faster. Near Chicago, a convoy reached a speed of… 80 km/h. Therefore, optimists dream of trains that could cover the route between Quebec and Montreal in three hours. (5)
Psst! Above all, don't reveal that passenger trains will still take three and a half hours to travel in 2023.
2) The bridge, the bridge again!
The feeling of déjà vu cannot be attributed to chance. In 1896, people in Quebec were talking a lot about the tramway and a future bridge between Quebec and Lévis…
In 1896, the cost of building the Quebec Bridge was estimated at $4 million to $5 million. On November 7th, L'Électeur published a first image of the future miracle. (6)
On October 28, Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier finally declared his support for the project at a large banquet at the Château Frontenac. This time we can say the project is underway!
3) What exactly is the car?
For years there has been talk of the automobile, a car that moves without being pulled by a horse. A true miracle. Except that no one saw them except a handful of travelers.
It wasn't until the summer of 1897 that the first car drove on the streets of Quebec. Courtesy of dentist Henri-Edmond Casgrain, who brought it back from Europe in pieces. (7)
Car or not, Quebec wants to limit speed on the roads. In December, a coachman was fined for driving too fast. The first traffic ticket in history!
4) The thief who apologizes!
On November 19th, after dark, a citizen was attacked on Rue de la Couronne. “Money or your life!” screams the thief and points a revolver at his face. Unwavering, the citizen grabs the thief's arm and forces him to drop his weapon.
Once disarmed, the attacker apologized. He claims he didn't want to scare anyone. It doesn't do any harm either. In fact, he makes it clear that he doesn't even need the money.
The thief flees without asking for peace…
III – DON’T MISS
1) The first cinema screening, nicknamed “Cinematographe”, on September 30th at 3pm on Saint-Joseph Street (now an Ashton restaurant).
As soon as the projector turns on, you feel the shock. The end of an era. The beginning of another. The audience is amazed. Stunned. Imagine. He sees moving images for the first time! (8th)
People move aside as the screen shows a train pulling into the station. Others shy away when they see galloping horses coming towards them. After the performance, some look behind the screen to see what magic might be hiding there.
The crowds continued to pour in for weeks. We multiply the representations. We organize courses for school children. Wasted effort. Often you have to turn people away! And it's just begun…
2) The first issue of the newspaper The sunDecember 28th.
On December 27, the church advanced with heavy artillery. It prohibits the reading of the newspaper L'Électeur under threat of “serious misconduct.” Even priests are subject to censorship!
Somewhat taken aback, owner Ernest Pacaud got around the ban by changing the name of the newspaper. Overnight the Elector becomes the sun. From December 28th it appeared in the same layout and with the same journalists.
Of course the church cannot be fooled. But it was only the Bishop of Chicoutimi who banned the new publication. The newspaper has a circulation of 12,000 copies in a city of 70,000 residents. You shouldn't provoke him too much. (9)
3) The arrival of Santa Claus at the legendary Pruneau & Kirouac store on the Côte de la Fabrique on December 15th.
Back then, Santa Claus was called Santa Claus. The Church is still suspicious of this character from elsewhere. She advises parents to say that it is the baby Jesus who brings the gifts. Many families give gifts on New Year's Day rather than December 25th. To reconcile everyone, it is said that Santa Claus is coming twice. “I'm very tired, but I'll manage,” he admits to certain commercials. (10)
IV – PRACTICAL ADVICE
1) Suggestions for excursions
— On October 5th, you must attend “Prof Carpenter’s” hypnosis session at the Academy, the events hall on Rue Saint-Louis. Some spectators start “screaming like donkeys”! Others meow like cats! In addition, those responsible at the academy announced that they had just installed better heating. No more shows that make you feel cold and your teeth chattering…
– On October 22nd at 9:15 p.m., take a trip to the “Costume Masquerade” at the Bergeron (sic) roller skating rink, located at the corner of Dorchester and Notre-Dame-des-Anges streets. More than 2000 skaters are present. Spoiler alert! The prizes for the most beautiful costumes go to a Marquise de Pompadour and a Louis XIV, aka Sun King.
— Don't miss a grand ball at Château Frontenac on November 24th. There are 170 guests. However, it is better to practice the dance steps. The program includes five waltz and two polka episodes. And early sleepers would do well to avoid it. Dancing goes on until the early hours of the morning…
2) Where to stay?
Château Frontenac is a must. In 1896 the hotel was still new. It was inaugurated three years earlier. Its silhouette is significantly different from today's. The central tower was only built in 1923.
The most curious will go to the Hôtel Québec, located on Rue des Jardins, opposite the new town hall, inaugurated in September. The owner, Pierre Déry, managed to tame a deer. To the great delight of the customers, the animal comes and goes in the restaurant. (11)
3) What to do with the children?
On November 5th, the smelt fishery is particularly fruitful on all Quebec wharves. Several seals added to the atmosphere that evening.
V – THINGS TO KNOW
— The telephone is not very common. There are only a few hundred devices in the region. On December 3, a first call was made between Quebec and Lévis thanks to a cable that had just been laid under the river. (12)
— On windy days, the drinking water from Lake Saint Charles is cloudy. Citizens demand filtering.
— At night most streets are not lit. In Quebec it is said that street lights are as rare as giraffe poop. There are fewer than 200 in the entire city.
—A worker works for just one dollar a day. An apprentice baker makes two dollars… a week! Numerous accidents occur. On October 22, a young man's thumb was torn off in a shoe factory in the Lower City. One example among many.
— Beware of fiacres, the taxis of the time. They tend to take several detours to extend the bill.
— Racism is very present. In late September, port authorities barred four Chinese from disembarking in Quebec “due to their extreme poverty.” The four must continue their journey to Montreal.
— Many people are worried as Quebec's debt reaches $31.2 million [1,1 milliard $ en argent de 2023]. About $16 per head…
— Avoid the Côte de la Fabrique on the morning of November 20th. A cart filled with coal rolls down the slope before crashing into Rue Saint-Jean.
— The society of 1896 loves puzzles. Here is a copy:
Who am I?
Take away my first letter,
Take away my second letter,
Take away all my letters,
And I will always be the same.
Answer: the postman. (13)
VI – HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
— A full meal at the chic Chien d'Or restaurant in today's Passage du Chien-d'Or: $0.35 [12,82 $ en argent de 2023] (14)
— A copy of the first edition of Le Soleil, December 28, 1896: $0.01 [0,37 $ en argent de 2023]
— One pound of butter: $0.19 [6,96 $ en argent de 2023]
— A room for one night at Château Frontenac: $1.75 [64,10 $ en argent de 2023]
— A ticket for the future electric tram: $0.05 [1,83 $ en argent de 2023]
— A one-way ticket from Quebec to London in a private cabin aboard a steamboat: $59.50 [2201,50 $ en argent de 2023, soit 37 fois plus qu’il y a 127 ans!]
— A house on Rue des Remparts: $4,000 [146 510 $ en argent de 2023]
— A ticket to the first screening of “Cinematographer”: $0.10 [3,70 $ en argent de 2023]
* The gate was rebuilt in 1938.
TO CONSULT THE FULL REPLICA OF THE LATEST EDITION OF THE PAPER DU SOLEIL
Remarks:
(1) Climate: Svante Arrhenius, the man who (almost) understood what burning coal would mean for us, L'Obs, April 22, 2023.
(2) The Elector, November 30, 1896, p. 8.
(3) The Elector, November 25, 1896, p. 4.
(4) The Elector, September 12, 1896, p. 4.
(5) L'Événement, December 4, 1896, p. 1. 4.
(6) The Elector, November 7, 1896, p. 2.
(7) Alex Tremblay, The advent of the automobile in Quebec: a small quiet revolution at the turn of the 20th century, Cap-aux-Diamants, No. 111, Fall 2012.
(8) 120 years ago Quebec discovered the cinema, Le Soleil, September 29, 2016.
(9) Jacques Lacoursière, Popular History of Quebec, Volume 4 (1896-1960), Septentrion, 1996.
(10) Jean-Philippe Warren, Hurray for Santa Claus!, Boréal, 2006.
(11) The Elector, December 26, 1896, p. 1. 4.
(12) Jean-Marie Lebel, Quebec 1608–2008, The Chronicles of the Capital, Les Presses de l'Université Laval, 2008.
(13) The Elector, November 10, 1896, p. 1. 10.
(14) Jean-Marie Lebel, Two Centuries of Restoration in Quebec, Cap-aux-Diamants, Vol. 44, Winter 1996.