and the construction of the Kananaskis Falls hydro station. At that time, he was also director of Rocky Mountains Cement Company and Security Trust. Bennett's corporate law firm included notable clients such as the Canadian Pacific Railway and Hudson's Bay Company. He worked with his childhood friend, Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, on many successful ventures, including stock purchases, land speculation, and the buying and merging of small companies. Before he was 40, Bennett was a multi-millionaire who lived in the Calgary Fairmont Palliser Hotel. Though a lifelong bachelor, he dated women. In terms of personality, Bennett was accused of arrogance and of having a volatile temper. Bennett's wealth helped him become a philanthropist; he donated to schools, hospitals, charities, and individuals in need. He became richer when he started gaining control of the match company, E. B. Eddy Company, between 1906 and 1918. His growing control of the company occurred due to his longtime friendship with Jennie Grahl Hunter Eddy, who trusted Bennett with the company after her husband, Ezra Butler Eddy, died in 1906. By 1926, Bennett gained full control of the company. Bennett was one of the richest Canadians at that time. He helped put many poor, struggling young men through university. Early federal political career (1911–1917) Bennett was elected to the House of Commons in the 1911 federal election as a Conservative candidate. Bennett did not always follow party policy; in one instance in 1914, he spoke against the Robert Borden-led Conservative government's bill to provide financial support to the Canadian Northern Railway. At age 44, Bennett tried to enlist in the Canadian military once World War I broke out, but was turned down as being medically unfit, perhaps because he had lost two of his toes. In July 1915, Bennett became Borden's assistant to London; in this job Bennett's responsibility was to find out how Canada could help Britain with its military and civilian needs. In 1916, Bennett was appointed director general of the National Service Board, which was in charge of identifying the number of potential recruits in the country. While Bennett supported conscription, he opposed Borden's proposal for a Union Government that would include both Conservatives and pro-conscription Liberals, fearing that this would ultimately hurt the Conservative Party. While he campaigned for Conservative candidates in the 1917 federal election he did not stand for re-election himself. Out of politics (1917–1925) In February 1918,