September 18, 1935-Canada Will Vote Next Month; Reactionaries Likely to Win
The Washington Daily News — Wednesday, September 18, 1935
Canada Will Vote Next Month; Reactionaries Likely to Win
By ERNIE PYLE
OTTAWA — On Oct. 14 Canada will elect a Prime Minister and a House of Commons. It corresponds to our presidential election next year.
The two main candidates for the premiership are R. B. Bennett and MacKenzie King. Bennett is now Premier, and has been for five years. King is now a member of Parliament, is leader of the opposition, and was Premier from 1921 to 1930.
Bennett’s is the Conservative Party. King’s is the Liberal. Now follow this closely, for it is confusing. The Conservative Party in Canada is liberal, and demands drastic reforms. The Liberal Party is conservative, and is for “laissez faire” in business.
The Liberals’ main talking point in the coming election (just like our Republicans’) is an attack on the Bennett government and its “radical” proposals, and a great hue and cry against the usurpation of power and the “dictatorship” tactics of Premier Bennett.
As just a passer-by thru the halls of Canadian statesmanship, it seems to me there is very little to choose between these two men. Both are capable and sincere, and even the gap between their platforms is far less than the chasm of thought between our own two parties.
But it seems that King will probably win, because he is out and Bennett is in, and like most humans everywhere, Canadians like a change.
The people seem to think of Bennett as a sincere and honest man doing the best he can, but prosperity is still out of sight around that corner, and “maybe a change wouldn’t do any harm.”
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Here is a tabloid of the two men, what they have done, and what they have against them
BENNETT
Career — He is 64. Born in Ontario but moved early to Calgary in Alberta. For 30 years a successful lawyer, and chief of counsel for the great Canadian Pacific Railroad. Came to Parliament in 1911, and has been here ever since. Has a Disraelian style of speech. Was near death last spring of heart trouble, and only recently recovered sufficiently to make his decision to run again.
His Policy — Very similar to Roosevelt’s. He is for reform in the capitalistic system; wants government to take a restrictive hand in business; desires to put thru advanced social legislation similar to that which our own brain trusters have been mapping out.
Arguments Against Him — That he is a rich man (he is one of the few multi-millionaires in Canada, worth probably six million) and therefore can’t understand the common man’s viewpoint; that he is already in office and hasn’t got Canada out of the depression; that he is becoming a dictator, asking and obtaining powers from Parliament for a free hand in spending and policy-making; that he has not consulted his party on his policies; that his “New Dealism” is a new trend of thought for him, proposed only since last January, and that it is for political purposes only; that he made promises in 1930 absolutely to end unemployment, and of course hasn’t done it.
KING
Career — Born in Ontario 61 years ago. A man of great personal charm and intellect, as is Bennett. King could hold a chair of economics in any of the world’s great universities; in fact has turned down such jobs. Lives on a beautiful estate in the hills some 20 miles from Ottawa. They say he is not rich, and that practically everything he has is in this country home. Entered Parliament in 1908. Became Minister of Labor in 1909. Has been leader of the Liberal Party for 16 years, as well as Prime Minister for nine.
His Policy — He is what you might call an enlightened reactionary. He is for reform by evolution. Thru his platform runs the theme song of “let business alone... don’t monkey with the constitution... guard against any trend toward dictatorship... lower tariffs... balance the budget...” His party has put a few progressive words in its platform, such as: “We recognize that personality is more sacred than property... the financial mismanagement of industry is largely responsible for many conditions obtaining today.” But the changes it would make in the present system are few indeed.
Arguments Against Him — That his platform is platitudinous; that King is a do-nothing policy; that there is nothing constructive in it, only calamity-howling about the dictatorship and “radical” ideas of Bennett; that he did nothing while Premier in the first few months of the depression; that he was in the U.S. working for a scientific foundation during the war, instead of being at home helping run the government; that he has fought in Parliament every progressive move of the Bennett government.
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