for some time before opportunity came to engage in journalism, harper had quite made up his mind that this was the profession which he could follow with most satisfaction to himself, and greatest good to others, and he sought every means to secure a connection with a newspaper in one of the cities. “it would seem,” he writes, after some months of searching, “that newspaper work is like most other things—it is difficult to get a start at. my experience is that it is exceptionally so. i have accepted the disappointment philosophically, and i am trying to make a good use of my time until an opening presents itself, and i am keeping my eyes open for one.” at last, in february of 1897, a temporary vacancy on the staff of the london advertiser afforded an opening, and though he had promise of employment[47] for not more than a few weeks, and knew for a certainty that it could not extend beyond a month or two at the most, he gladly seized the opportunity. there was a chance, at least, to test the field and to prove himself. he accordingly left barrie for london to begin as a reporter on the advertiser, and from that time, for the remainder of his life, there were to be found no moments of “forced inactivity,” or “comparative idleness,” but the whole was one unbroken stretch of the most tireless putting forth of energy, the most continuous and sustained activity and zeal.
the weeks on the advertiser were followed by a few months on the london news. in october, 1897, an opening came on the toronto mail and empire, and harper joined the staff of that journal. in london, his duties had been those of a general reporter; in toronto, they were at first the same, though with larger opportunities. his abilities, however, caused him soon to be singled out for the larger and more special assignments, and in this way he was brought into active touch[48] with two important branches of public affairs. as city hall reporter he had to do for a time with municipal politics and administration, and, as reporter of the proceedings of the legislative assembly of ontario, he was brought into similar relationship with provincial affairs. an appointment on the staff of the montreal herald in february, 1899, gave him the opportunity of still wider experience and further advancement. he was part of the time the city editor of that daily, and part of the time its representative and correspondent at ottawa. both positions afforded him opportunity of a closer intimacy with the public affairs of the dominion, and as, throughout his entire connection with the herald, he was a contributor to its editorial columns, he had commenced to help at least to shape and direct public opinion in matters of national concern.
after the establishment of the department of labour by the dominion government in the summer of 1900, harper, in november of that year, severed his connection with the[49] herald to accept the position of associate editor of the labour gazette. the department had just been created as a new department of the government, with the gazette as its official journal. its policy had still to be shaped; its usefulness to be proved. it was in part the strong bond of friendship existing between harper and his friend, the deputy minister of the department, in part the opportunity of cooperation in a work undertaken primarily on behalf of the industrial classes of canada, and which he believed might be made of the greatest service to the country as a whole, that caused him to terminate his then promising career in outside journalism, and to share with his friend the fortunes of the civil service in a work to which they were both prepared to devote their lives. in addition to being engaged on the gazette, harper actively cooperated in the management and administration of the affairs of the department, and acted as the deputy minister of the department when the latter was absent on official duties elsewhere. he[50] was acting as deputy minister of labour at the time of his death.
during the entire period he was engaged in journalism, harper had not, with the exception of a brief vacation of one or two weeks, which he devoted in part to work of another kind, a single break of any appreciable duration in the round of continuous work. the time for vacation, with the exception mentioned, came, in every instance, just as a new affiliation was formed, and new duties, instead of a temporary respite from old ones, were taken on. it is doubtful, indeed, if so continuous a strain could have been so successfully borne, had it not been for the period of reflection which preceded it, the joy which he found in his work, and the purpose which he had at heart.
“i start,” he wrote, on february 20, a few days before his departure from barrie to london, “under favourable auspices, and i intend to make my time tell for good so far as it is in my power. perhaps after all it has been best for me, this year of comparative idleness. it has at least[51] enabled me to form certain sober views of life, which might not have come until too late, had i been carried from the first on the crest of fortune’s wave.”
and upon his arrival at london:
“on this, the evening before my first serious association with my chosen profession, let me register the resolution which i promised in a letter to dear old —— last sunday. i hope and trust that i may hereafter be able to subdue whatever weakness there is in my character, and there is much. i am starting here under favourable auspices. may i not betray the trust, and may i leave this community better for my influence during my sojourn in it!”
after little more than a month’s experience he wrote again as follows:
“i have had no cause to regret my choice of a profession. i begin to feel the tremendous power wielded by the press in formulating public opinion, and am in a position to build up, by reflection upon what it is, a conception of what a newspaper should be, all of which i trust will[52] enable me, when the time comes, to do my share in furthering the highest interests of the state and mankind in general. i have come to see where the dangers which surround the young newspaper man lie, and am endeavouring to keep myself free from their influence.”
leaving london in october, ’97, he measured his success and services in a few brief words:
“my time here has not been lost, and, while i have fallen far short of what i might have done, still i think that i leave the city rather better than worse for my visit.”
measuring development by the opportunity which anniversaries afford, he had, after a year’s experience, reason to feel that progress had been made, while at the same time he was fully conscious of what remained to be done.
“when i look at myself now and what i was on march 1, 1897, when i went to london to serve my apprenticeship at daily newspaper[53] work, i can scarcely recognize the same individual. carelessness, thoughtlessness and love of pleasure, i see all along the line; but i feel that i have gained more than i have lost, and i have learned that the only road to success is work, and close, careful study. i have done much that i should not have done, i have omitted much, very much, that i ought to have done. i see it and shall try and do better.”
a year later, the same earnest spirit, realizing its limitations, its responsibilities and its opportunities, is revealed in a letter written from the press gallery of the house of commons at ottawa. it refers to his newly formed connection with the herald, and is a true and characteristic self-estimate and confession.
“regarding the change—it is one of great moment to me. here at the very centre of the life of the dominion, i see all about me means of acquiring the knowledge and exerting the influence which should make my life a useful one, and that, i assure you again, is my chief aim. i am still a student, of course, and i am made[54] conscious of the fact from the character of the men with whom i am associated, for they are all men of years, experience and force of character. i appreciate the fact that i am still in tutelage, and the training here i regard simply as preparatory to something else—what that something else may be remains to be seen.
“my own rule, latterly, has been to follow the course which promises to be best in the long run, for, while not neglecting the present, men of our years must remember that life is real, and that we must arm ourselves for the struggle on the hither side of thirty.”
harper was, at the time, twenty-five years of age.
