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The Daily Colonist, May 18–24, 1915

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

  • Tuesday, May 18, 1915
    • Three columns of casualties with pictures of local men "Who Have Fallen in Battle" on the front page.
    • While not official yet, the Italian government is said to have finally made a decision about entering the war.
    • Account of a spectacular aerial battle over Brussels between 27 allied aeroplanes and a Zeppelin. The Zeppelin was downed at the cost of two aeroplanes.
    • An article tucked away deep in the paper admits that the fight in Gallipoli "is a question of how many men you can afford to lose to capture each trench and each kilometre of soil."
  • Wednesday, May 19, 1915
    • An amendment to the British North America Act to add new members to the Canadian Senate to represent the western provinces has passed the British House of Commons and moved to the House of Lords, where it is expected to pass.
    • The casualty list has moved back to the second page, although it is still in excess of the three columns. The fourth page includes more details on local men that have died.
  • Thursday, May 20, 1915
    • British Columbia provincial court rules that indians are not restricted from hunting on reserve lands by provincial game restrictions because the reserves are established by the federal Indian Act and the exclusive jurisdiction of the Dominion Parliament, so the provincial restrictions do not apply.
    • An article on the last page presents anecdotal evidence that Germans are crucifying captured Canadians.
  • Friday, May 21, 1915
    • There is a picture of the king of Italy on the front page beside an article detailing that Italy, while it has not yet done so officially, is unquestionably going to declare war on Austria. A motion has passed in Parliament to give the Italian government full authority for war, and the German, Austrian and Ottoman ambassadors to Italy are preparing to leave the country.
    • An article on the death of one Australian General and the wounding of another mentions also mentions that over 1,000 Australians are on yesterday's casualty list. That's just one day's worth. Ground fighting in Gallipoli has been going on for almost a month now.
  • Saturday, May 22, 1915
    • Map of the Ypres area on the front page, noting Langemarck, where Canadians have been involved in heavy fighting this past week.
    • The bill to give the Italian government authority for war has passed the Italian senate. Austria is moving troops to the Italian border. War is all but declared. 
  • Sunday, May 23, 1915
    • The German reply to the stern note sent by the United States government over the sinking of the Lusitania is not expected any sooner than the middle of next week, since the German government is far more concerned about war with Italy at the moment.
  • Monday, May 24, 1915 (Empire Day)
    • [no paper on Mondays]

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