Mayoralty and A.D. Stewart - 1894-1895 (Part 1)

 

 

 

As the end of 1894, particularly of December 1894, was nearing, Hamilton Mayor A.D. Stewart had not made any particular plans to run a campaign for a second term in 1895.

However, Mayor Stewart’s actions and behaviors through his first had been distinctly controversial and there was a widespread sentiment that he should not be acclaimed for a second term.

After much speculation, on Friday, December 21, 1894, the Times carried a front page article with the following headline, ‘James Dixon for Mayor : No Doubt as to A.D. Stewart’s Opponent Now : A short, Sharp Fight On.” :

“One week from Monday next James Dixon and A.D. Stewart will be nominated as candidates for the office of Mayor of the City of Hamilton for 1895. The decision was finally arrived at this afternoon and Mr. Dixon has already begun his work of organization with a large staff of willing volunteers.

“The contest will be a short, sharp one. Little can be done this week and the elections take place two weeks from Monday, so that all the fighting will have to be done between Christmas day and 5 p.m. on Monday, January7th.

In that same issue of the Times on December21 1894, an editorial, presumably written before Dixon’s announcement, appeared commenting on the upcoming municipal election:

“We understand that it is practically settled that there will be an election for the Mayoralty on January 7^th, and that Mr. James Dixon will be the candidate against Mr. A.D. Stewart. It has been customary to allow the holder of the mayor’s chair to enjoy a second term without opposition, the basis of the custom being a recognition of the idea that it costs about the whole of the first year’s salary to cover the election expenses, and one of the conditions being that the Mayor’s conduct in office should be fairly satisfactory.”¹

¹ “The Mayoralty” Hamilton Times. December 21, 1894.

A.D. Stewart had once been Chief of the Hamilton Police Department. While the exact details of what happened, A.D. Stewart’s tenure came to an abrupt end, whether he was fired or told to resign is unknown.

Stewart left Hamilton for a while, but did return, making amends with those he might have offended and putting himself back in Hamilton’s sporting and entertainment communities. He three his hat in the ring to run for office as a city alderman, and was successful.

In late 1893 and early 1894, A.D. Stewart pursued a controversial campaign as he ran for mayor. In particular, it was the alliance of A.D. Stewart and the P.P.A., the Protestant Protective Association, an organization that was decidedly anti-Roman Catholic. It was rumored that the P.P.A. had covered A.D. Stewart’s campaign expenses. In fact it was rumored that Stewart had claimed more from the organization than he actually put towards the legitimate costs

The editor of the Times was unsparing in his belief that Stewart did deserve a second term as Hamilton’s mayor :

“His conduct has not been satisfactory to any class in the community, not to any member of the Council. Tory and Grit, wet and dry, Protestant and Catholic, rich and poor – even P.P.A.’s – have grounds of complaint against Mr. Stewart

“It is a good, safe rule not to prophesy unless you know, but from all we have been able to learn with regard to the feeling in the city, Mr. Stewart’s chances of re-election are so small that he would save both money and reputation by stepping out before the electors have a chance to tell him to get out.”¹

The Times would, over the flow of the election campaign, present a series of brutally frank opinions of A.D. Stewart’s record during his term as mayor:

“The people of Hamilton are going to enjoy the holidays as best they can with their unusually limited resources, no matter who might be elected Mayor on January 7^th. But the hope and expectation of getting a better man for the job than A.D. Stewart will not detract from the pleasure of the festive season.”²

² “Mayor and Council”

Hamilton Times. December 22, 1894.

A.D. Stewart did have his supporters and there  others who were not necessarily supporters, but who believed that precedent should be followed and a sitting mayor should acclaimed to a second term The following is a portion of a lengthy letter to the Editor of the Times, from “An Orthodox Onlooker:

“(It) appears to me to be a manifest injustice in imposing on the present Mayor the anxiety, annoyance and expense of an election, looking to the fact that his predecessors for many years past have all been allowed to enjoy uninterrupted a second term of office.”³

³ “Mayoralty Election”

Hamilton Times. December 22, 1894.

With the Christmas celebrations over, A.D. Stewart was quick to schedule a public event:

“Mayor Stewart opened the mayoralty campaign by holding a mass meeting in the Arcade Hall for the purpose of making his formal announcement to the public.

“The mayor went at business without any formalities. A very few minutes after 8 o’clock he took the podium without having any chairman or any introduction, and went right into his speech.”⁴

⁴ “Stewart Says His Piece: The Mayor Tells Why He Should be re-elected.”

Hamilton Times. December 27, 1894.

The mayor went over a number of matters that he had dealt with during his term, with no hesitancy as to painting his involvement in them in the most flattering manner.

However, what the crowd was waiting for and which the mayor delivered, was Stewart’s attack on his opponent:

“Having dealt with municipal questions, he asked the ratepayers to look at his general record and not only his mistakes, and then gave his attention to his opponent, Mr. James .in a personal way. He said he had never yet said an unkind word of an opponent and would not do so in this contest, but he would not be a man if he did not defend himself. He then proceeded to say some very hard things about Mr. Dixon, whom he called ungentlemanly and unmanly in seeking the position of Mayor, after it had been the unwritten law to give the Mayor the honor of a second term without opposition.”⁴

With his usual dynamic oratorical and dramatic style, A.D. Stewart really went to work:

“With the evident intention of making a point, the Mayor stepped forward, assumed an attitude and asked, ‘Now, gentlemen what have I done this year ---’

‘Voices – Nothing!

“The laughter that followed showed that there were others that thought that way too, but the Mayor was not put out at all.

“Mayor Stewart went on in this sort of strain for some time, and after reveling a while in an attack upon ‘Bobber Dixon,’ he stated that he would ask the ratepayers not to return Mr. Dixon for three reasons. The first was that Mr. Dixon’s candidature was unfair and unmanly; the second that Mr. Dixon has not the time to give to the position, and third that Mr. Dixon is a man in whom no dependence could be placed.”⁴