Evening star., 1940-03-24
Liberal LEADERSHIP
In War Is Canadian
Vote Issue Tuesday
Mackenzie King, Stalking
Future, Hopes Election
Ends Dominion's Troubles

BY the Associated Press.
OTTAWA, Ontario, March 49,
Canada's $500, 900 voters, summoned
to the second wartime election In q
quarter century, will tell Prime
Minister w. l.. Mckenzie King next
Tuesday what they think Of his lib
eral government and the way it has
directed the Dominion's war effort.
Bitterly criticized by the Conser-
vative minority In Parliament and
by the Ontario provincial legisla-
ture, which have called the admin
istration's war effort half-hearted
and inefficient, the 65-year-old pre-
mier is gambling his political future
on an election he hopes will settle
Canada's family troubles until peace
returns.
The seven-weeks campaign will
reach a climax with mass meetings
in virtually every large center to-
night and tomorrow. Premier
Mackenzie King will make his final
appeal to the voters at his tradi-
tional election eve mass meeting In
the capital Monday night.
10000 in Service Voting.
Approximately 10000 voters are
enrolled In the Canadian active
service force. Those in England
started voting March II and those
IN Canada two days later. Their
polls close tonight.
Some 8 or 10 parties are repre-
sented by 672 candidates nominated
for the 245 seats in Commons, but
of these only the Liberals and the
Conservatives have sufficient nomi-
nees to obtain majority.
The Liberal government, for which
Defense Minister Norman Rogers
has been one of the most active
campaigners, has defended its rec
ord and pledged to prosecute Cam
ada's part in the war with vigor.
The Conservative party. led by
DR.. R. Manion, veteran parlia-
mentarian, has promised that if sue
cessful at the polls the party would
form national government without
party lines
Both Liberals and Cooperative
Commonwealth Federation leaders
have asserted they would have
nothing to do with such a govern
ment. Premier Mackenzie King has
said his followers would do their
parliamentary duty by constituting
his majesty's loyal opposition
Federation Has Sc in Field.
The Cooperative Commonwealth
Federation, with SO candidates in
the field, originally was opposed to
participating in the war, but now
has accepted the war as inevitable
and promises to guard against
profiteering and work for postwar
insurance for soldiers and their de-
pendents.
The Social Credit party, calling
itself the New Democracy for fed
eral election purposes, has rallied
around the banner of w. D. Her
ridge, former Canadian Minister to
Washington, who would have
Canada conscript all its resources in
its war effort.
Fuel for the campaign was pro-
vided by the action of the Ontario
Legislature in which Liberals and
Conservatives united behind out
spoken provincial Premier Mitchell
Hepburn last January 10 to adopt,
A to 10, a resolution condemning
the Ottawa government for its do
little" war policy.
Premier Accepted Challenge.
Premier Hepburn paved the way
| for the resolution by accusing Pre-
mier Mackenzie King of "vaccila-
ton" denouncing the sale OF
Canadian wheat to Russia and as
serting that Canadian troops had
been sent overseas inadequatsly
equipped. The challenge precipi-
tated Premier Mackenzie Kings
call for the election after dissolu-
ton of Parliament January Is.
The action automatically deprived
the parliamentary opposition of the
privilege of demanding detailed re-
ports on the administrations &C
tionS.
1t was greeted With cries tnat the
Prime Minister had "scuttled"
Parliament to avoid disclosure of
desired information.
The Premier replied that a
lengthy prediction session of
Parliament with its partisan wrang-
ling would have worked against do
minion unity in the war effort.
When Parliament was dissolved,
the Liberals held 176 seats, the Con-
servatives, 80; Social Credit, IS;
Cooperative Commonwealth Fed
Grafton, 7; Independents, 2: the
United Farmers of Ontario-Labor,
1, and United Reform, /. There
were four vacancies.