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The Daily Colonist

News from a century ago as presented in the Victoria Daily Colonist newspaper.

The Daily Colonist, November 13, 1914

The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago today.

Another slow news day. On the one hand there are reports that the Germans are completely unable to advance on Allied Anglo-French troops on the Western Front, that Russian troops have the German and Austro-Hungarian troops in total retreat and are advancing all but unopposed in Turkey. How can the war possibly last much longer?


The Daily Colonist, November 12, 1914

News out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago today.

Not much substantial about the war that I can see today. Not much news at all, really.

• Praise for the Australian navy from New Zealand and Canada
• Broughton Strait (the straight between Malcolm Island, where Sointula is, and Port McNeill, and where Cormorant Island, home to Alert Bay, is) is closed. Any ships in the strait risk being fired upon. No reason is given.
• Oh, hey, Luxembourg! Forgot about them. Still officially neutral, but occupied by Germany and completely surrounded by Germany and German occupied Belgium and German occupied France, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is paid indemnity for the damage done by the passage of German troops through the country, but the citizenry is showing signs of deeply resenting the occupation.
• The Mexican civil war has flared up again.
• But it's all O.K., because Weller's Home Outfitters has your Christmas gift problem sorted...


The Daily Colonist, November 11, 1914

#dailycolonist1914 - News out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago today.

At this point in 1914 the war is 3½ months old and virtually no one has any idea that there will be another four full years of absolute horror to come. Remember that we are talking about 16,000,000 people dying and another 20,000,000 being injured, many horrifically, for the sake of a handful of cousins using the excuse of 2 murders to steal land and resources from each-other and everyone else. Remember the gory truth not the "glory" and ask yourself "what for?", lest ye forget.


The Daily Colonist, November 8, 1914

#dailycolonist1914 - The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago today.

Big Sunday paper update today. Lots of interesting things: war news, 100 year-old technology, amazing illustrations and advertisements, and more...


The Daily Colonist, November 7, 1914

News out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago today.

The headline news stories have the Germans and the allies in losing ground on all fronts. To believe things at face value one would think the war likely to be over by Christmas.

• German fort at Tsing Tau has been captured. "Germany Completely Evicted from Asia."
• Allied advances on the Western Front. German wounded evacuated from Antwerp and troops relocated.
• Germans and Austrians in retreat on the Russian front.
• Armenians have joined the fight against the Ottoman Turks, aiding the Russians [and setting the stage for the Armenian Genocide that will start in 1915].
• Canada issues a formal (and really nothing more than a formality) declaration of war against Turkey.
• New Zealand will not be exporting any more wool except to Allied countries.
• Article detailing and lauding New Zealand's capture of Samoa early in the war [unfortunately mostly unreadable because of a bad scan].
• Epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease in American cattle. Canada implementing more stringent border inspections to keep the disease from spreading into Canada.
• Two German spies caught and executed among Canadian troops on Salisbury Plain.
• London anxious about possible Zeppelin attack
Tucked away in the "City News" section: communications on the trans-Pacific cable, cut at Fanning Island on September 7 by Germans, has been fully restored.


The Daily Colonist, November 6, 1914

News out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago today:

• Inquest reveals hospital ship Rohilla that floundered off the Yorkshire coast on the night before Hallowe'en (reported on Hallowe'en) struck a mine and was intentionally run onto the rocks as desperate option slightly better than sinking at sea.
• An Italian priest demonstrates his invention of a portable radio receiver capable of receiving radio signals from over a thousand miles away.
• Spies and more spies...
• British aviators crash and burn, literally...
• Negotiations for a reciprocal trade agreement with Australia going well.
• Washington and Oregon pass prohibition...
• Britain and France officially declare war on the Ottoman Empire.
• Germany reported to be building "super Zeppelins" to attack London.


The Daily Colonist, November 5, 1914

News out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago today.

• News from the war against the Ottoman Empire
• Washington state elections (prohibition passed and other news)
• The Ukrainian Internment starting, railway sabotage and more...


The Daily Colonist, November 4, 1914

The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago today: lots of news about the Ottoman Empire entering the war; changes on the Western Front, news from the Panama Canal, and several stories local to Vancouver...


The Daily Colonist, November 3, 1914

News out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago today:

• Front page map of Kiao-Chau Bay [ Jiaozhou Bay / 胶州湾 ] and area around Tsing-Tau [ Qingdao / 青岛 ]. German fort expected to fall soon.
• North Sea officially closed to commercial traffic due to surreptitiously deployed mines.
• United States secret service warns the Canadian government of a suspected attack on the Welland Canal (the locks that allow ships to bypass Niagra Falls) [with wording that echoes the "terrorist" rhetoric of 2014.]


The Daily Colonist, November 1, 1914

The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago today:

• Map of the current lines of the Western front on the front page.
• [Hidden on the 3rd page, so insignificant at the time that the article cuts off in mid-sentence, the Ukrainian internment has truly begun.] All enemy aliens must register, and "As soon as the approximate number of aliens of enemy countries in Canada is known, the Government will proceed with the establishment of concentration camps."
• much more...


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