Title: 1917 TLS by Future Prime Minister Arthur Meighen — Conscription Crisis and the “Khaki Election” while stressing that the government will act fairly to ensure “not the slightest feeling of racial animosity exists,” while warning against “false leaders” misleading fellow citizens. The Best in existence!

Description:
Typed Letter Signed (TLS) by Arthur Meighen, dated December 29, 1917, on Minister of the Interior, Canada letterhead featuring a green-printed Canadian coat of arms. Addressed to Thomas D. Neelands, President of the Canadian Club in New York, the two-page letter thanks Neelands for a supportive telegram and reflects on the results of the December 17, 1917 federal election — the wartime “Khaki Election” dominated by the divisive issue of conscription.

Meighen expresses pride in Canada’s heritage and unity, praises Western Canada’s strong support for the government, and laments Quebec’s resistance to the war effort. He stresses that the government will act fairly to ensure “not the slightest feeling of racial animosity exists,” while warning against “false leaders” misleading fellow citizens. The letter closes with Meighen’s bold signature in black ink at the bottom of the second page. Well-preserved with crisp typing, light toning, and expected horizontal folds from mailing.

Full Transcription:

Minister of the Interior, Canada

Ottawa, Ontario,
29th December, 1917.

Dear Mr. Neelands,

I have now the opportunity of acknowledging your telegram of 18th December, and expressing directly to you my sincere thanks for the kindness of this message. As you already know it was transmitted at once to the Prime Minister who is in the city, and who, I know would appreciate its contents to the full.

I need not tell you that all of us are better Canadians, and feel prouder of our heritage and indeed of our blood than we did before the 17th. Western Canada spoke in thunder tones. The attitude of Quebec, or rather of French-Quebec will be profoundly deplored. The desire of the Government will be to evidence by its fairness that not the slightest feeling of racial animosity exists on our part, and every — every means will be adopted to show our fellow-citizens the fearful crime perpetrated on them by false leaders, and bring them to see that only the imperative duties of citizens are being asked of them, the same as from all the rest.

Yours very truly,
(signed) Arthur Meighen

Thos. D. Neelands, Esq.,
President, Canadian Club,
New York,
U.S.A.

Historical Context:
Arthur Meighen (1874–1960) served as Canada’s ninth Prime Minister, holding office in 1920–1921 and again in 1926. In 1917, he was Minister of the Interior and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs in Prime Minister Robert Borden’s wartime Unionist government. The “17th” referenced in this letter is December 17, 1917 — the date of the Khaki Election, Canada’s wartime federal election fought almost entirely over the issue of conscription.

Borden’s pro-conscription Unionists secured a decisive victory, winning strong support in English-speaking provinces and among soldiers overseas, while French-speaking Quebec overwhelmingly backed Wilfrid Laurier’s anti-conscription Liberals. The result deepened Canada’s linguistic and regional divides, and Meighen’s words here reflect both pride in the Unionist triumph and frustration with Quebec’s opposition.

His reference to “false leaders” echoes the Unionist view that anti-conscription politicians had misled their constituents. At the same time, Meighen emphasizes that the government would act without racial animosity, framing the conscription policy as an equal duty for all Canadians.

Market Rarity:
Typed letters signed by Arthur Meighen are notably scarce in the collectors’ market, although we were lucky to acquire two which are both available on our store! In a review of prior sales, we found only one recorded example on eBay, which sold in 2016 for $350 USD. This rarity, and politically charged two-page wartime letters such as this are significantly scarcer and highly sought after by collectors of Canadian political history.

Closing Appeal:
This letter is a candid political artifact from one of the most polarizing moments in Canadian history, written by a future Prime Minister at the center of the wartime government. With its direct reference to the December 17, 1917 Khaki Election, commentary on Quebec’s opposition, and emphasis on national unity, it offers collectors a rare, unfiltered view into the political tensions of the First World War.