Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

1901 TO 1914placed a great strain on the money markets of the world, andmuch difficulty was experienced in borrowing for long termsin London. The amount borrowed by Canada at thistime, however, was small in comparison with her borrowingsin the years immediately preceding the Great European War.At the close of 1905 the crop situation was excellent; therewas great activity in railway construction, especially in theWest; the Canadian iron and steel industry was developingrapidly; Cobalt was just coming into prominence as a greatsilver-producing area; and a hopeful sign for the future wasthe greatly intensified interest in Canada and Canadianaffairs which was being shown in both Great Britain andthe United States.During the years under review the staff of The CanadianBank of Commerce, as might be supposed, had grown rapidlyin numbers. At the end of 1904 it numbered 840 as against385 in 1894, and the demand for efficient and trustworthyyoung men increased steadily, owing, of course, to the greatincrease in the number of branches. At the annual meetingof shareholders in January, 1906, it was intimated by theBoard that the enlarged volume of business, the wide extentof territory which the operations of the bank now covered,and the diversity of its interests seemed to render an increasein the number of directors advisable. An amendment to theBank Act, recently passed by Parliament, had removed thelimit of ten set as the maximum number of directors which abank might have, and the shareholders were therefore freeto increase the number of directors to twelve. The generalmanager, Mr. B. E. Walker, was given a seat at the Board,and the late Mr. H. D. Warren, 1a well-known manufacturer,was elected to the other vacancy.'Harry Dorrnan Warren (1860-1909) was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and educated atPrinceton University. After spending some years in the employ of the Gutta Perchaand Rubber Manufacturing Company, of New York, he went to London, England, assecretary of the American Elevator Company. In 1887 he was appointed presidentand treasurer of The Gutta Percha and Rubber Manufacturing Company of Toronto,Limited, which positions he held until his death.