Evening star., 1935-09-29

SOllStItdIltc SONClLl INV
L dissolved after five years in
Office, and William Lyon Mackenzie
King, who heads his majestys loyal
opposition in the House of Commons
and the Liberal party at large, are now
engaged in bitterly battling each other
for victory in the Federal election
which takes place next October IA.
Both have lived true to the Alger
formula, which requires many diff
CultieS to be overcome before success
can be won. They were both boy
prodegies whose early promise was not
dimmed by brain fever or parental
adulation.
They look lot alike, being rotund
of person and face, of approximately
the same height, weight and badness
and unable to rely on belts alone to
keep up their trousers. Somewhat
sedentary in habits, they are gifted
with hardy constitutions and uncom-
mon endurance. Both are splendid
speakers and sound quite alike If
heard over the radio; neither gets into
the full swing of his oratorical effort
much under an hour. Both in their
COS, they are each becoming more
polished and urbane, their witticisms
more mellow and their verbal darts
less barbed.
They Admire the Scriptures.
They are both bachelors and de-
Ightful hosts, at the same time dis
couraging gossips with the very i'm
partiality of their invitation lists.
Both have led their parties in victory
and defeat, exchanging the chairs Of
prime minister and opposition leader.
They have travelled and read widely,
have Joined in Downing street con-
ferences on the affairs Of the British
Empire and have associated with
leaders in all walks of life. They ad-
mire the Scriptures and quote them
without fear Of contradiction and
have strongly religious leanings, Mr..
Bennett toward Methodism in what Is
now the United Church Of Canada,
and Mr.. King toward the Presbyte-
rianism of his covenating ancestors.
They rival each other in their beliefs
that Canada is the greatest country in
the world, though differing strongly
as to how best to keep her in that
position.
Both have politics in their blood,
but their political PHILOSOPHERS ere
the opposing ones Of the parties they
lead, formed by lifelong study and
practice, influenced by the divergence
of their careers from boyhood days
and by inherent characteristic diff
ferences.
Differ About Oatmeal.
The paths of MIR. Bennett and Mr..
King have followed in attaining their
present eminence in the public life of
Canada often come close together,
then swing far apart again. They
differ in matters Of more import than
oatmeal porridge, which Mr.. Bennett
abhors, but which soothes the palate
of a man with Lyon Mackenzie in his
name and ancestry.
Son of a well-to-do shipbuilder,
whose ancestors came to New Bruns-
wick from New England with the
United Empire Loyalists, Richard Bed
ford Bennett, the youth, became a
school teacher. Then his propensity
for argument led him into law and
stump speeches. BY 1897 he had
comfortable income. But greater op-
portunity beckoned In the booming
West and Mr.. Bennett, at the age of
27, accepted an offer from Senator
James Lougheed to become his part
ner in Calgary, Alberta, where he still
has his law Office.
Only year later he was in the
Legislative Assembly of the Northwest
Territories, soon became a Kings
counsel, badge Of outstanding legal
ability. Ottawa saw him first in 1911
at the conclusion of whirlwind elec-
ton campaign which earned him the
name of Bonfire" Bennett. In the
House of Commons he first attracted
wide attention as more than the "boy
orator from Calgary" when he fought
his own Conservative party on the
question Of subsidies to the Canadian
Northern Railway. When a further
guaranty of bonds to the railway Of
Mackenzie & Mann had been ap-
proved by his leader, Sir Robert Bor-
den, Mr.. Bennett roundly attacked
the proposition and individuals asso-
ciated with the railway.
Well remembered in parliamentary
annals is his famous clash with Ar
thur Meighen, now leader of the Ca
madam Senate, at the same time. Mr..
Bennett stood unflinching against the
jeerS OF his own party members,
mnay of whom never forgot or for
gave his reference to Meighen as "the
gramophone of Mackenzie g. Mann"
Bennett Quits Directorships.
When the union government of
war days was formed MIR. Bennett
did not offer himself for reelection,
but went back to the law practice,
which took him many times before
the Supreme Court and Privy Coun-
Gil. When Mr.. Meighen was called
upon to form a government in 1920
he invited Mr.. Bennett to become
minister of justice. This prospective
portfolio was lost in q defeat at the
polls in 1921. Reelected in 1925 and
1925 in Calgary, Mr.. Bennett became
leader Of the federal Conservative
party in 1927.
Accepting the honor, he made ref.
erence to his wealth as a solemn trust
to enable him to serve his country
without fear for the future. For no
man may serve you as he should If
he has over his shoulder always the
shadow Of pecuniary obligations and
liabilities" he said. "Such as have
! consecrate with myself to the serv-
ice in which I am" Mr.. Bennett
It,
in many of Canada's biggest busi-
nesses.
Romance colored his acquisition of
riches. When he was studying law in
New Brunswick, among the friends he
made were a sister and Q brother,
Jennie and Harry Shireff. They
worked together in church and in the
temperance lodge.
A few years later their ways parted.
Miss CbircR Uopt n RroOir1ino MaSS