HISTORICAL EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE ON THIS DAY IN CANADA

22 March

Canadian Rumrunner Sunk

There was an incident on March 22, 1929, that put the name I'm Alone into the headlines of newspapers all over the continent. I’m Alone wasn't a song on the hit parade. It was the name of a Canadian rumrunner sunk by an American coast guard vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. There were hot words between Ottawa and Washington, but Canada did not have a legal leg to stand on.

It was regarded as very unsporting of the Americans. Prohibition was in force in the United States and the smuggling of liquor across the border was treated like a game. As the manufacture of liquor was legal in Canada, the government took the position that it could not forbid its export. If the Americans did not want the liquor to enter, it was their job to stop it. The problem from the States' point of view was that many of their Customs officers did not want to stop the smuggling. Some had been bribed to close their eyes. Canadian authorities would phone their counterparts across the border and warn them that shipments were on the way, but would often be told to stop bothering them with such trivialities, or to write letters instead of phoning!

Some of the Atlantic rumrunners, as they were called, used clever tactics. Perhaps twenty of them would approach the coast together. When a patrol boat began to chase them, they would scatter, so only one could be caught. When the patrol boat did bring a vessel to a halt, there would be no liquor on board. It had been dumped overboard in a net, weighted with bags of salt. The net would have a buoy attached to it which would float under the surface of the water. The salt would dissolve in a few days, and then the rumrunner would be able to see the buoy and regain the sunken liquor.

It was all part of the frenzy of the "Roaring Twenties" before the stock market crash of 1929.

22 March

-1700    Bienville Le Moyne explored the Red River.

-1723    The Reverend George Henry, a Presbyterian, began preaching in Quebec in a room provided by the Jesuit College.

-1764    The first book was printed in Canada; it was a catechism.

-1765    The Stamp Act received Royal Assent.

-1849    Baldwin, Mackenzie and Blake were burned in effigy in Toronto.

-1885    Troops were mobilized all over Canada because of the Northwest rebellion.

-1894    The first Stanley Cup game was played.

-1914    Stefansson embarked on an expedition to Cape Kellet.