Rogue Tory
Page 85
4 OC 1, 160-61; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 126-27; Courtney, Voting in Canada, 18. W.D. Cowan served one undistinguished term in the House, where he spoke occasionally against bankers, freetraders, socialists, Liberal immigration policies, and the absence of federal aid to Saskatchewan. He said in June 1931 that despite hardship, the typical Saskatchewan resident was still “cheery and goodhumoured. If he has nothing but oatmeal porridge he is content.” The maverick Liberal back-bencher J.-F. Pouliot referred to Cowan as “the nightshirt from Long Lake” and told the House that Cowan had received a salary of $2170 in 1929 as treasurer of the Saskatchewan Klan. Cowan responded later that he did not mind Pouliot’s teasing and promised he would stand one day at the pearly gates in a Klan outfit and pull Pouliot in, out of gratitude for Pouliot’s criticism of the farmer-labour group in the House. Debates, March 24, 1931, 242-53; June 12, 1931, 2589-92; March 28, 1933, 3498-501
5 Report of the Royal Commission to Inquire into Statements Made in Statutory Declarations and Other Matters, 1930; The Saskatchewan Record, published by the Liberal-Conservative Party of Saskatchewan, April 1931; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 127-32; OC 1, 129-30
6 Wilson, Diefenbaker, 131-32
7 Archer, Saskatchewan, 213-19; Friesen, Canadian Prairies, 382-406
8 JGDP, II/10, 8302-505; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 139; JGDI, August 14, 1969. The Diefenbaker Papers suggest a certain lack of order, or casualness, in the financial records of the Diefenbaker law office. In 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1938, for example, Diefenbaker either submitted inconsistent federal and provincial income tax returns or resubmitted revised statements. His net taxable income for 1936 was shown on various forms as $3546, $3935, $4568, or $3537.
9 JGDI, August 14, 1969; JGDP, I
10 JGD to the Manager, Banque Canadienne Nationale, Prince Albert, May 12, 1933, March 29, 1935, JGDP, II/10/131, 8214-15, 8220
11 Wilson, Diefenbaker, 149
12 OC 1, 138; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 150-51
13 Holt, Other, 139-40; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 148
14 Holt, Other, 140-44; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 153-54. Holt gained her information and comments on these relationships from Sheila Brower, Mary Louise (Connell) Hose, Helen Brunt, Emmett and Belle Hall, Priscilla McCloy, and Molly Parrott, among others.
15 Holt, Other, 155
16 Ibid., 150-51;JGDP, II/10/135, 8606
17 From the mid-1920s to the 1940s, for example, Diefenbaker was a member of the Prince Albert Canadian Club, the Young Men’s Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club, the Prince Albert Horticultural Society, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Loyal Orange Lodge, the Shriners, and was a modest contributor to a wide range of local charities. He was an elected member of the Senate of the University of Saskatchewan from 1932 to 1938, and was active in the Canadian Bar Association throughout this period.
18 Wilson, Diefenbaker, 151
19 Quoted ibid., 155-56
20 In his memoirs Diefenbaker said that civic bonds with a face value of $100 were being bought “for twenty-five dollars or less” by “members of the Davis clique,” who naturally opposed him in the election because he wanted the city to buy up the discounted bonds. But he reflected on his defeat: “Of course, had I won in 1933, I would not have been in a position to accept the leadership of the provincial Conservative Party in 1936 … In retrospect, there seems almost a logic which was not apparent at the time.” By 1975 the invisible hand guiding Diefenbaker’s career seemed as sure in hindsight as the one guiding Mackenzie King’s. Wilson, Diefenbaker, 156; OC 1, 168-69
21 Wilson, Diefenbaker, 156-57
22 Ibid., 157-58; Ward and Smith, Gardiner, 165-72. The Conservative Party lost seats disproportionately in the three-way fight: the Liberals won 48 percent of the popular vote, the Conservatives 27 percent, and Farmer-Labour 24 percent.
23 OC 1, 162; JGDI, December 10, 1969
24 OC 1, 162
25 Ibid.
26 JGDI, December 10, 1969
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid.
29 Ibid.
30 The occasion for Diefenbaker’s conversation with Bennett over Stevens’s future is uncertain; Diefenbaker suggested that it was in October 1934, apparently just before Stevens’s resignation. In 1934 Diefenbaker had no reason to notice, but the secretary of the price spreads commission and eventual author of the commission’s report was a young External Affairs officer named L.B. Pearson. OC 1, 163-64; English, Shadow, 168-69; JGDI, December 10, 1969
31 OC 1, 162-63
32 The genesis of the speeches is traced in the J.W. Dafoe Papers, Grant Dexter to J.W. Dafoe, January 4, 1935; Dafoe to Chester Bloom, January 11, 1935; Bloom to Dafoe, January 14 and January 30, 1935; Dexter to George Ferguson, May 11, 1935; Bloom to Dafoe, September 18, 1935. See also the Canadian Annual Review, 1935-36, 3.
33 JGD to Robert Weir, January 10, 1935, JGDP, II/1/25, 455-56
34 Ibid.
35 See J.W. Dafoe to John A. Stevenson, May 17, 1935; Grant Dexter to Dafoe, May 20, 1935; Dafoe to Tom King, May 30, 1935; Dexter to Dafoe, June 3, 1935, Dafoe Papers.
36 JGD to Senator Huey P. Long, January 22, 1935, JGDP, II/11/141, 9150
37 JGD to D.L. Burgess, March 26, 1935, ibid., 9021
38 Friesen, Canadian Prairies, 399-400; Ward and Smith, Gardiner, 182-88
39 According to the memoirs, Diefenbaker “was in line” for appointment to the Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench in 1935, but, in the absence of a vacancy, Bennett sounded Diefenbaker out during the election campaign on a district court judgeship. Diefenbaker was not interested. OC 1, 164, 169; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 178
40 Prince Albert Daily Herald, July 23, 1935; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 178
41 OC 1, 164. J.M. Barrie, in a rectorial address at St Andrew’s University in 1922 entitled “Courage,” said: “Courage is the thing. All goes if courage goes.” Diefenbaker was also on the platform for Bennett’s campaign speech in Saskatoon the next night, September 26, 1935. JGDP, II/11/142, 9233, 5812
42 Ward and Smith, Gardiner, 189-94; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 178-79
43 Courtney, Voting in Canada, 18-19; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 179; Ward and Smith, Gardiner, 193-94
44 Gardiner’s labyrinthine negotiations with King over the appointment are laid out in Ward and Smith, Gardiner, 195-202.
45 “Excerpts from Speech delivered by Rt. Hon. R.B. Bennett March 4, 1938 to the Conservative Conference at Ottawa,” JGDP, II/1/26, 516-18. The caption is in Diefenbaker’s handwriting.
46 JGDI, December 10, 1969. A slightly different wording appears in the Diefenbaker memoirs. OC 1, 164-65
47 OC 1, 166; JGDI, December 10, 1969
48 Wire, JGD to R.B. Bennett, January 26, 1939, JGDP, II/1/25, 461
49 Quoted in Wilson, Diefenbaker, 137
50 Wilson, Diefenbaker, 137-38
51 Quoted ibid., Diefenbaker, 164. Cookson later served for seventeen years as the Regina chief of police.
52 Ibid., 165
53 Ibid.
54 Ibid., 166
55 According to Arthur Cookson, the boy’s first lawyer, Alfred Svoboda, who was displaced by John Diefenbaker at the request of Bohun’s father, had refused to give up the shirt to Diefenbaker for use in the trial. Ibid., 170
56 Winnipeg Free Press, October 2, 1933
57 Quoted in Wilson, Diefenbaker, 171-72
58 Daily Herald, February 22, 1934; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 172
59 Wilson, Diefenbaker, 172-73; Daily Herald, March 8 and 9, 1934
60 Daily Herald, November 4-9, 1935; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 180-89
61 Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, December 2, 1935
62 Ibid., February 12 and April 28, 1936; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 185-89
63 Regina Daily Star, February 5, 1936, quoted in Wilson, Diefenbaker, 202
64 R. v. Harms, (1936) 2 Western Weekly Reports, 114 (Sask.); Daily Star, February 5 and 6, 1935; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 190-202
65 Daily Star, April 20, 1936; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 203
66 Wilson, Diefenbaker, 204
67 Regina Leader, May 14, 1936
68 JGD to R.L. Hanbidge, October 2, 1936, JGDP, II/3/38.4, 2908-10. In the memoirs, Diefenbaker wrote that “I did not have it in mind to become Party Leader, nor did I campaign in any way for the office. But as President, it was difficult to resist the demands of E.E. Perley, M.P. from Qu’Appelle, and of R.L. ‘Dinny’ Hanbidge from Kerrobert, and of other leading Conservatives that I allow my name to go forward.” OC 1, 166. The source of the claim seemed to be this letter to Hanbidge of October 2; Diefenbaker ignored or missed evidence from later in the month that he had, indeed, sought the leadership.
69 In The Other Mrs. Diefenbaker, Holt wrote that Diefenbaker, at a dinner party in the fall of 1936, “was effusive about Hitler’s leadership, his ability in restoring Germany’s economy. He described the German dictator as a ‘spellbinder,’ referring to the opening of the Games, Hitler’s showcase of the triumphs of Naziism, and the supremacy of the pure Aryan race.” She suggests that Edna silenced Diefenbaker, and told him later of critical press reports about Nazi atrocities. Holt, Other, 153-54
70 There are a number of items from the “Vimy and Battlefields Pilgrimage, July 1936” in the Diefenbaker Papers. Diefenbaker’s presence in Berlin is recorded in postcards to Edna on August 9, 1936, and to his father on August 12, 1936. The speech was made in Melfort, Saskatchewan, on March 1, 1937; the reference to the Nazi system appears in a letter to Laura S. Martin of April 9, 1940; and the exchange with Franz Rosenow of Berlin occurred from October 21, 1936, to April 21, 1937. See JGDP, II/13, 15, 18674-91; 11694; 9179-80; 9243-48; Melfort Journal, March 2, 1937.
In the memoirs, Diefenbaker wrote that he attended the Games and “saw Hitler, Goering, Goebbels, and Dr. Funk. They were within thirty or forty feet of me. I saw at first hand the curse of militarism renewed in the German people.” OC 1, 201.
In June 1937 the Western Producer published a letter from one O. Reidell, alleging that Diefenbaker had attended a rally of the Nazi party in Nuremberg in September 1936 and that he maintained “regular and intimate” contact with the Nazis. Diefenbaker wrote to Reidell and the newspaper denying the allegations and threatening legal proceedings in the absence of retractions. Diefenbaker said that he had no doubt Reidell “is but a tool for others who will remain anonymous, using him for the propagation of false propaganda.” Reidell withdrew his charges, and the Western Producer published Diefenbaker’s letter on June 24, 1937, along with an editorial note saying that “we regret most sincerely the contribution we made to spreading this canard and that, having discussed the matter with Mr. Diefenbaker, we do not believe there is a scintilla of evidence to support the charges made by Mr. Reidell.” Western Producer, June 3 and 24, 1937; JGDP, II/7/97, 5525-26; II/16/234, 12147-56; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 215-16
In June 1937 Prime Minister King was received by Adolf Hitler in Berlin, and the editor of the Western Producer commented to Diefenbaker that “I would imagine now, after Mr. King’s long interview with Hitler, that anybody who was going to use this material against you is going to run into a boomerang.” A.P. Waldron to JGD, July 6, 1937, JGDP, II/7/97, 5526
71 R.L. Hanbidge to JGD, September 25, 1936, JGDP, II/3/38.4, 2903-04
72 JGD to R.L. Hanbidge, October 2, 1936, ibid., 2908-10
73 See, for example, JGD to Mr & Mrs William Roberts, Zealandia, October 21, 1936, ibid., 2924; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 209-13.
74 Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, October 29, 1936; see also Regina Leader Post, October 29, 1936; Daily Star, October 29, 1936.
75 Daily Star, October 29, 1936
76 J.F. Anderson to JGD, August 10, 1937, enclosing a copy of his letter to R.B. Bennett, JGDP, II/3/33.2, 1598-600
77 JGD to J.F. Anderson, August 11, 1937; copy, J. Earl Lawson, MP, to H.E. Keown, August 10, 1937, JGDP, II/3/33.2, 1601, 1604
78 Just after the election, Diefenbaker wrote to an Ontario MP: “I put in about seventeen months without any salary and am naturally very discouraged. I received no assistance from the East, other than generous personal help from Mr. Bennett.” Within days of the 1938 defeat, the provincial party office received a contribution of $5000 from Ottawa. JGD to Denton Massey, MP, June 19, 1938, JGDP, II/15/218, 11627-28; OC 1, 176
79 OC 1, 174. The deposits of twenty-two candidates cost Diefenbaker $2200. In a letter written in early April, Diefenbaker said: “I am hopeful that the Conservatives will have about 35 candidates in the field.”JGD to R.W. Ward, Edmonton, April 8, 1938, JGDP, II/1/1, 2
80 Smith, Prairie Liberalism, 233-43
81 Edmonton Journal, April 27, May 27, 1938; Today and Tomorrow 3, May 12, 1938; Helen Orpwood, “The Saskatchewan Election,” Canadian Forum, August 1938, 136-37; Free Press, May 17 and 19, 1938; OC 1, 174-76; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 217-21
82 Regina Leader Post, May 19, 1938, quoted in Smith, Prairie Liberalism, 239
83 Wilson, Diefenbaker, 217-22; OC 1, 173-77
84 Smith, Prairie Liberalism, 239-43; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 221; OC 1, 176
85 JGD to G.S. Thorvaldson, June 18, 1938,JGDP, II/1/23.2, 360-62
86 JGD to E.E. Perley, June 17, 1938, ibid., 343
87 Diefenbaker quickly and graciously acknowledged such indications of support. He had already taken note of the significance of Hnatyshyn’s commitment to the party when he wrote to E.E. Perley in February 1938 that Hnatyshyn “has done much to alter the antagonistic attitude towards the Conservative Party which has heretofore characterized the Ukrainian people in this Province.” JGD to E.E. Perley, MP, February 9, 1938; John Hnatyshyn to JGD, June 11, 1938; JGD to John Hnatyshyn, June 10 and June 18, 1938, ibid., 501, 10788-89, 10815
88 OC 1, 173-74; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 221; JGD to Alex H. Reed, December 9, 1938; JGD to J.H. Currie, June 6, August 30, 1939, JGDP, II/3/33.2, 1669-71, II/4/40, 3403, 3407
Chapter 4 Seats of the Mighty
1 OC 1, 177
2 Quoted in Holt, Other, 173. Holt also reports that Diefenbaker’s Prince Albert friend and political supporter Violet Chisholm recalled his expressed intention to leave politics after the 1938 defeat. Ibid., 174
3 These signs were evident to her maid Florence Pelletier and her niece Sheila Brower, among others. In his memoirs Diefenbaker notes only that “my wife was not well.” OC 1, 176-77
4 See Holt, Other, 175-83.
5 See JGD to Château Laurier, wire, June 17, 1938; Château Laurier to JGD, wire, June 17, 1938; JGD to R.F. Pratt, June 18, 1938; R.F. Pratt to JGD, June 20, 1938; JGD to J.R. MacNicol, June 20, 1938, JGDP, II/1/26, 354-55, 357, 359, 366.
6 J.R. MacNicol to JGD, June 21, 1938, ibid., 372
7 JGD to A.E. Whitmore, June 15 and June 22, 1938; JGD to M.A. MacPherson, June 22, 1938; JGD to Mrs W.M. Roberts, June 25, 1938; JGD to J.R. MacNicol, June 27, 1938; J.R. MacNicol to JGD, June 27, 1938; H.A. Stewart to JGD, June 27, 1938; JGD to H.A. Stewart, June 30, 1938; George McLean to JGD, June 28, 1938; JGD to George McLean, June 29, 1938, JGDP, ibid., 292-93, 375, 387, 373, 390-92, 401-03
8 The vote was Manion 830; MacPherson 648; Harris 49; Massey 39. Lawson had withdrawn after the first ballot. See Granatstein, Survival, 10-17; OC 1, 177-79; Courtney, Selection, 187-88.
9 E.E. Perley, MP, to JGD, May 12, 1939; Arthur Kendall to JGD, May 12, 1939; JGD to John R. Anderson, June 6, 1939, JGDP, II/1/26, 591-92, 599-600
10 George W. McLean and Mrs A.R. Robinson to JGD, nd; JGD to Mrs A.R. Robinson, June 6, 1939; W.B. Kelly to JGD, June 5, 1939; JGD to W.B. Kelly, June 8, 1939; JGD to John R. Anderson, June 6, 1939, ibid., 595-600
11 OC 1, 180-81
12 Saskatoon Phoenix, June 16, 1939; OC 1, 181-83; Wilson, Diefenbaker, 231-32; JGDI, August 14, 1969. Kelly, the president of the constituency association, perpetuated the local party’s historic link with the Ku Klux Klan. In the late 1920s he had been the Kligrapp (or branch president) of the Imperial unit of the Klan. Wilson, Diefenbaker, 231-32. He was Diefenbaker’s official agent during the 1940 campaign.
During the 1956 leadership contest, Diefenbaker gave a slightl
y different story of the nominating convention to the Toronto Globe and Mail: “Now, he recalls with feelings of dismay at the close call, that he had gone to Imperial just to thank the voters who had vainly cast their ballots for him in the provincial election. His late wife, Edna, was with him, quite pleased at the thought that politics was being relegated to the background in their life.” Globe and Mail, November 12, 1956. His arrival at a federal nominating convention, and his subsequent nomination, were entirely unexpected. Here was a double twist: Not only was the story of the accidental nomination fanciful but in 1956 he feigned dismay that if he had not made the trip to thank his constituents, he would not have become an MP, and by implication would not have been a candidate for the leadership. The fates were obviously with him. His mention of Edna’s feelings sustains the view that one reason for his show of reluctance was his need to persuade her to accept his continuing political career.
13 OC 1, 182-83; JGDI, August 14, 1969; and see, for example, copious correspondence and campaign materials in the file “Conservative Party: National - Organization, Lake Centre,” from June 16, 1939, to September 1, 1939, JGDP, II/1/27, 604-762.
14 OC 1, 179-80
15 E.E. Perley to JGD, June 23, 1939; Arthur Kendall to JGD, July 20, 1939; JGD to R.G. Manion, July 20, 1939, JGDP, II/1/27, 632, 687-88, 621
16 JGD to A.E. Whitmore, July 27, 1939; JGD to Major G. Dunn, August 29, 1939; J.M. Robb to JGD, September 16, 1939, JGDP, II/1/27, 543-45
17 Granatstein, Survival, 30-35
18 Diefenbaker was acting as respondent in the case on behalf of the crown in an action to compel officials and ministers to carry out the law for the benefit of subjects. After winning at trial and appeal, Diefenbaker lost the case in the Supreme Court on a split decision. E. Swain et al. v. R. Ex relatione Adolph Studer, (1941) Supreme Court Records 40; OC 1, 183
19 OC 1, 183-84
20 The case is recounted in Wilson, Diefenbaker, 232-48; OC 1, 183-84; Holt, Other, 186-90. See also the Prince Albert Herald and Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, October 6 and December 5, 1939, February 13-19, 1940; Prince Albert Herald, October 17, 1940; Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, October 18, 1940; R. v. Emele, (1940) 2 Western Weekly Reports, 545, 74 Canadian Criminal Cases 76 (Sask. CA).