“In finance Senator Forget was a true leader. He was one of the
first men to loom large in high finance in Canada. He realized
many possibilities which other men have realized too--but he
followed that by action. He had the courage to follow his
convictions and many solid institutions which today enjoy in
themselves prosperity and largely aid in the advancement of the
Dominion, owe to him debts which can never be repaid to the
individual, though they will be to the people of the country. His
financial ability brought him into prominence in connection with
several of the largest corporations in the Dominion, prominent
among which were the Montreal Street, the Richelieu & Ontario
Navigation Company and the Montreal Light, Heat & Power Company,
the Dominion Coal Company, and the Dominion Iron & Steel Company.
“Senator Forget was one of the colossal figures about whom have
surged the tides and currents of Canadian finance. The news of
his death this morning was as much of a shock as a surprise, both
to those with whom he had been so long associated in connection
with the organization and the management of the great financial
and industrial enterprises of the Dominion and to the thousands
of others to whom his name had come to be the shibboleth of
success.
“But if Senator Forget represented one thing more than success
it was absolute unswerving fidelity to his word. In all the
heat and confusion of the stock market amidst the treacheries
which sometimes attend on high financing and the deception and
duplicity which beset the path of the successful man everywhere,
there was never a question of his own unfaltering veracity.
Senator Forget was wisely charitable, an intelligent patron of
the arts, and a strong supporter of all movements which made for
the better government of the city and the state. He will long be
remembered for what he was as well as for what he did.”
Another Montreal paper said of him: “His rise to financial fame
is written on the business history of Montreal, and the story
of his success in the financial world is the history of the
development of the city. Although Senator Forget’s estate will
count up into the millions, its accumulation was not effected by
continuous plain sailing.”
Obstacles and difficulties of grave import arose, but his
financial capacity and strict integrity had won the confidence
and trust of friends who rallied to his support, and although
he saw the storm clouds gather, he was able to turn threatened
disaster into brilliant achievement. His investments were most
judiciously made and his judgment concerning important financial
transactions seemed never at fault. Once his mind was made up as
to the value of a security nothing could shake his confidence,
and much of his success in life was due to his unerring judgment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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