The Daily Colonist, January 28-31, 1915

#dailycolonist1915 - The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago:

• Thursday, January 28, 1915
  • Article on the inconsistent application of the rule of law toward enemy aliens residing in Canada speculates that the Dominion Parliament may introduce legislation on the matter.
  • Lovely ad for the sending of "comforts" [what we would come to be known as "care packages"] to soldiers featuring an illustration of a woman standing on a map of Canada handing a package across the Atlantic to a solider in France. [Reproduced here in full and with a close-crop of the image]
  • Article detailing life in the muddy trenches and an account of a Christmas Truce exchange of songs and gifts.
  • Picture of Ted Shawn and Hilda Beyer who are performing with Ruth St. Denis [all of whom are very notable Modern dance pioneers] at the Royal Victoria Theatre tonight.
     
• Friday, January 29, 1915
  • Mexico City changes hands in the Mexican civil war and falls to the troops of General Carranza while the provisional government of President Garza and the troops of General Zapata retreat to Cuernavaca.
     
• Saturday, January 30, 1915
  • Mr. R. H. Alexander [for whom Alexander Street in Vancouver is named] has passed away. His pioneering accomplishments in Vancouver are recounted.
  • German authorities in Berlin are now arresting and interning British colonials in concentration camps (with the strange exception of Australians.)
  • [In a little reminder that the age of automobiles was definitely not in full swing yet in 1915 by the very fact that this made it into the newspaper] Motorists receive fines for faulty lights and speeding. The names of the drivers and the amounts of the fines are noted.
  • Ad for chocolates stating that the best way for a man to win the admiration of a woman is with a box of chocolates.
     
• Sunday, January 31, 1915
  • Map of the current battle lines on the western front.
  • [An interesting bit of propaganda with] An article on the loyalty of India and Indian Maharajahs and other ruling-caste Indians serving in the war.
  • [And a few pages later, in contrast to the above article] An article on how the "ringleaders of the Komagata Maru affair" are stirring sedition in India and undermining the loyalty of Indian soldiers.
  • Lovely ad for "Charmingly Smart and Bewitchingly Pretty New Dresses"
  • Article on the good work of the provincial motion picture censors in 1914. Over the year more than 7,500 reels were inspected and 631½ were rejected outright and many more edited to remove offensive scenes for reasons including: "the fact that sex problems were dealt with", "giving offence to religious orders", "burlesquing of the clergy", "ridicule of the temperance movement", "bad example to children", and "anti-British" themes such as [this is my favourite] "an necessary display of United States flags" (50½ films were rejected for this reason), "slandering the Allies in the war" and other general "anti-British" content.
  • Fantastic illustration of Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson who will be appearing at the Royal Victoria Theatre in his last touring performance of Hamlet (as well as two other appearances in other plays). [Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson was considered the finest Hamlet of the 19th century.]
  • Another four-page spread on the British Army at War similar to last week, with one page devoted to the first Canadian contingent. [Again, reproduced in 2-up spreads to show the wonderful hand-drawn headlines and photo borders, and the general layout. Pages can be read here - http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist57y45uvic#page/n17/mode/2up ]

[ Source: http://www.britishcolonist.ca/dateList.php?year=1915 ]