The Huron Expositor, 1979-04-12, Page 10E HURON^, EXPOSIT() 10
Sere di
Eby Alice GO�
igditor's note:, Ibis is the first in a two. pay' erieS, an,the
motet?!.
rie rise of Se.afOrth's William Aberhart *Oma radiad
Otophet to premier of Alberta in the Dirty Thirties. .
Who says Canadian politics are dull? Now while some of
may
feel election s eeion ca
m a
i
ns have a disturbing
tendency
,to sound like xexnrs, there have been Some rot
esis that
.
rere darn excitin.g, mudsItng ng aside. One Allele
fa
t
from dull contests occurred in 1935 when "Bible our
n, Social
Aberhart, a Seaforth area native, and his brand n l
Credit party, swept into ,power in the provuiee pf Alberta.
The oto : of William Aberhart, today rec#ed en a
plaque outside Seaforth Distrtct High Scho, �a little
like
ease
g s.
the Horatio Alger rag s -to -riches tate, althea h in this
power, rather than money, was the end; result of the story.,,
Aberhart,, nicknamed Whitey'"was a graduate .ol?
Seaforth Collegiate institute, Where be played on the
football: team, and planned a career as a Presbyterian
ministei. Unfortunately. whether finances or ambition w'aS
the problem, instead of studying theology, Bill Aberhart
graduated from Hamilton Normal School `and, taught fat'
ten years in the town of Brantford. During this time. he
studied for his 'Bac elo r of Arts degree bYcorrespondence
from Queens University, receiving the eor'eted degree in
1910. This extramural a -mural degree was his fife -long ride and;
$T 8 P
joy, and he insisted on William Aberhart, B.A..in the
hone 'book, on pamphlets and election osiers and on
p P
stationary. A reporter Who covered Mr. Aberh.avt's
campaign once suggested rather cruelly that the man
would likely have B.A. engraved on his tombstone as well.
• • MOVE 'WEST
In 1910, Mr. Aberhart and his family left; Ontario and;
moved west, where the mathematics teacher soon became
principal of Crescent Heights High School, in a Calgary
suburb.
Three years later,: Mr. Aberhart made another major
change in hislifestyle-he lest the Presbyterian Church.
behind and became,,a-committed member of the Baptist
faith. With his new faith in hand. "Bible Bill" offeredto
lead a class which would study the Biblical teachings, and
in no time. the class had grown to such a size it overftow.ed
the original meeting room. The class wasmoved to
Calgary's Grand Theatre, where then' was not only more
room but'likely much more comfortable.seaES, and by 1923.
the 'class had to ate shifted again to a larger theatre with.
more roots...
•William Aberhart hadn't fulfilled his -ambition to be an
ordained -Presbyterian minister, bathe was fast becoming.
=ofte
of the most.siiceessful lay preachers ever to set .up
E
5-2341
LOCAL PROGRAMMING'
EVERY-WEDNES•D.AY...
°n Channe' .i 2
. `! Was There
"The J6h.n .McCorrol
Shaw►►•
•
Watch Channel, • 12. #o see'
yovr-frien'ds or your e'Iff
r
! it in. the NYinee of Alberta. In; the dad's when:
1 p t.
man tusAi?ly4 SedPl, MacPherson, another former
Canadian. wasasking revival meetings in the U.S_,,
1? inThe Calgary Pro hetie
William Abcrhart was building g, ... B y - .p ,
Bible Institute in Calgary., at a costtof 165,000„ raised liy*-
his xu'Forttr4
"No his
audience
didn't thatstQ
wo
�
about cramped quarters.
Not vaintentto simply:' reach his followers.within the city •
boundaries. William Aberhart made a decision that was to
eventually uall • swan him •the premiership of Alberta,he decided:
k
to take the word of God •over he airwaves. It was a
remarkable decision since radio was still a relatively newt
phenomenon, but William- Aberhatt realized it;tvuld prove:
a very valuable avenue of influence. Soon his radio gospel
m asagess were attracting listeners all over the' province
and his. Sunday School correspondence program made
hest people feel they''were a. part of the Prophetic Bible
of which Aberhart w=as both president and dean,
irist, titii..e,
SOCIAL CREDIT
Until 1932, William Aberhart was content with Mils
and his religions secular job as school principal education
w' celebrity as an evan elist. Then. a
programs. and gro rng , g.
number of events "influenced hire profoundly -there was a
.
cvwntrovcrsy in Calgary .over schoolteachers' salaries, one
of his best'students commate..
i ;d.suicide due to his family's
'poverty. ve y and someone introduced Mr. Aberhart to the
writings Of Major C.t-i. Douglas, a Scottish engineer who
believed the e .. for nations like. Britain and Canada
..
lay in his doctrine of "social credit." Not being an
economist or political escientist, 1''11 quote one of the
simpler explanations of the philosophy I could find'.
Douglas based his ideas on a4'.`A PLUS B = C"' equation.
"A" equaled wages and dividends paid to producers,
"B" the other costs of production, including raw materials
and bank charges and profits and "C" the 'total Lost of the
product. Douglas maintained since the cost of production
;drays exceeds the'produeer.'•s buying power. "poverty in
the .Midst of. plenty." Was bound to exist, for there would
never be enough money .available to buy :the available
goods. His solution was for, the government to issue a
"social" dividendor cash payment to all .citizens.
The idea of the dividend. caught William Aberhart`s:eye.
One of his less charitable critics, Financial Post columnist
J. B. McGeaehy. Who covered the Aberhart campaign as a
young reporter, wrote wide that he doubts Aberhart ever
read Douglas' books .an Social Credit. instead Mr.
MCGeachy said ."Bible Bill" read a children's version of
: the .:,Social .Credit philosophy which., was 'written. by an
,English actor, named Maurice Colbourne. who' toured the
west in at series of George 'Bernard Shaw plays. Someone •
passed Aberhart a copy of the children's book, he sat. up
reading it allnight and when he, laid down the book, he
Was convinced that "Social Credit' was exactly, what the
people of Alberta needed." ••
William Aberhart, 'd'ecided to start propagating his
new=found gospel from his: Calgary radio station, and soon
the people of Alberta Were hearing -about a. new political
program that would provide "$2S a month for.everybody."
My father, homesteading on 'a quarter. section outside
Peace River. in the north of Alberta, was as caught up. in
.the ."S25 a month"' slogan as everyone else=and years
after he'd left homesteading behind and settled down back
in. Ontario" he'd still talk about .the election when. 'Bible.
Bill" promised the much-needed money. —
New to understand: -why William Aberhart could emerge
from being;• a radio evangelist, popular- it: somewhat
fundamentalist in his: attitude to everything from discipline
to evolution; and noted for incorrectly predicting the end of
the world, to. the prerhier of Alberta, it's important to know
a little bit about the province in the days before Peter
tougl eed had to worry about how to spenif the province's
wealth: . ..
UNITED'rARMERS "
. First, the party in office was the United Farmers of
Alberta, an agriculturally -based poliitital party. who had
• formed the, Alberta Farmers ,•Co-operative Elevator
Company. opened grain elevators across Alberta and
negotiated for the fortnationof the Alberta Wheat Pool to •
market wheat.
Unfortunately, in 1929 just when it seemed th'e province
sas••gettingon its feet .".the, world's train of prosperity
jumped the tracks' in the words of a Canadian historian. 't
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Huron Expositor Want Ads.
Dial 527-0240.
i
Depression— hit with a vengeance -farmers: couldn't pay
their mortgages, the Alberta a Wheat Pool faced bankruptcy
evenand
l . , feelin the pinch. The �.iFA's
cityd weIers were $
. Brownlee, * a P fz
J.E B wnlee rim-1ookin lawyer, managed to.
.- ..
t.te-e ected, id the f9dti election, but three years later,.
,fit re,elected
" . i soddenly ''b .came front page news. The
ee,. P
ht is >i f
. s 1�.. on.� l It"seducing"
'
n .s ria ra er,
premier w sued fol, seducing his:you g to ,, g ph,
payheavy damages, •William; Aberhart
and' force t. ;he . 8
y
wasted no bini
e n pointing out to the residents pfAlberta
that theirs rovince was being run by ' philandere "' anal
fornicators.
• With the provinreripe for change, anWlliatit
Aberhart.firmly convinced he could relieve the effects of
the Depression with his monthly dividend cheques. the
evangelist took to the hustings. In August. 1934, he spoke
to the. ole; of Camrose and ..1,500 people poured into the
tSwwit .
's.n 3�0
hear,the Social Credit remedy to their
problems,1 ,.a •t -�
"`Answering the often asked gyestiortt where does all
the money come front?.Mr. Aberhart, with the able
ass" t n ce f M r. Manning, illustrated how he could buy a
at+ o lvl . g
is a bill without payment
,�clothes oc .i u _y
suit of. andhis h' 1'
1It pay : in books and if
of a single dollar. is merely a cross; entry ... .
it works -neatly under the resent system it should work
.... So ,. . � pitall,
same way uncia the new order" The beauty of al ,
thundered the speaker( Aberhart) is that it does not
interfere with the Bank Act orthat old bogey, the .
'*newspaper- a rt of th da .
constitution, said: a. ._....r_po .. e Y
• SM OON TrA1t,E
o :iltust to th do rine, was the -
Another Story used. t , t'a a ct
tale of Pat and Mike who were saloon—keepers, The two
men had a barrel of 'beer each but only dime between.
them and business was poor. Pat, who had *the dime,
decided to spend it on a glass of Mike's beer. Not to be
outdone, Mike returned the compliment. By -the end of the
day, both barrels were dry, and either Pat or Mike still had.
the dime.
Stories like this were used to prove Aberhart's main
-arguements about money and credit. It was going to
require S10 miltionto make the first: motithly payment to.
all Alberta adults but "Bible BiIr' assured the citizens that.
his circulation; plan would bring this'` "credit" back to the
people twelve times a year. He didn't emphasize the fact
that the one way governments usually' recover their money
is by the less ,popular methodknowsi as taxation.
By the summer of 1935, there likely • weren't very :many
Albertans who, don't have at least a hazy idea about: the
new philosophy, of "social credit." In 'Seaforth, the
Expositor was also devoting some front pa$e headlines to ..
the "native son" who it seemed might just be the, next
premier of Alberta.
.Could the school principal with his massive baldhead,a.
favorite butt of the cartoonists'. jokes, and his wire -rimmed
glasses 'and B.A.'degree form a government without
having held any elected office before? Certainly he .could
and did! LL_
Next week: Seaforth tears to; the'victory and -a visit by the
new ;premier.
•
Lions
B1NGIO'
Every
Saturday
-at
Blyth Memorial
Hall
12 reg, -10 each -
3 thar
ach-3"share the wealth
$:150 jackpot SO rails
everySaat..at 8 p.m.
Gran
ounces summer £ aq+ of`
James Murphy, Artisitic Saturday evenifg1, with ,a,
Director of the Huron Coun Saturday matinee ' at 2:34
try Playhouse •house has announced'; p.m. during the first Week
the line-up, of plays for the Doting, the seeend week,
1979 Festival. of Summer performances ,,are . given
Mr. M h . said it Monday through SatiirdayX
Theatre. M urp y y
is
Season of five world hi S CV n
n
gs At 8:30, '
nrw-
With
and that each One
achone Would be Wednesday
andd
Sa
tur aY
,givena to week run, matinees. at 2,t30 p.m,
e - reduction `wood' .11
lm. The play is .,a
The* op tiro&, p hu ,man and humorous. view of
fail Ste the de=lightful ;$ritish the age-old battle :of the
farce`;. Pools. delightful
se by sexe'. I o e u us and
h s .t pnsA,g .t:S
Philip 'Ong. Peopled wit closes August I8,
those wacky characters from Last, but not least, the',
his Si' How They Run, it is
filled with slapstick high
jirikS that :promises to keep
1•
audiences roaring with
laughter. ,It opens June V
and runs through. July. 7. -
Next is the cltilling,thriller.;
Angel Street' by Patrick
Hamilton, the author of Rope
4
and Hangover Square. In
1943 under the name of
Gaslight, the play was turned.
into a film • with Charles
Baand Ingrid Bergman.
Boyer g g
A. menacing, suspense
drama, it is bound to keep
audiences on the edge of
their seats. It opens July 1' 1
acid: +cs July .
Harvey
losebyt Mar21y Chase will'
be the third, production. This
beloved comedy about El -
Wood.' P. Dowd and his friend
Harvey, aninvisible six foot_
tall white rabbit has been
enchanting playgoers and
movie fans .alike all: over the
world for years, It has been
made into a motion picture •
and a television special, both
starring the venerable James
Stewart.. It opens July- 25 and
runs through August 4,
Iriuron Country Playhouse is
proud to present the award
winning musical, The Sound.
of .Music,, with music anad•
1; rics b , Rodgers an
di
�
Hammerstein and book by
...
Howard find ay and Russel:
e
lar
r
us
e
. The _... ...
Cr Fo
e
Fu
r
rri
u
i
Barin cif
.end..
s ..
and 13
rns the real life strugi
g1eof f t
e singing
.Trapp'
family during' the rise
;of
Hitler's Gy o
:erinan- it ole'
August 22 and runs through
September .1.
p
.Lacal man on CBC
'Theof Cross-Lentenmns, b •readings and:
'I'll Shadow h .dow the . .ey
That is the title or' a sermon. excerpts',front Billy'
special Good Friday !lour Graham, Peter Marshall of
long program radio on CBC""A; Man Called Peter" fatne,.
s
Morningside show with Dan, Dr. John. Giad.sto , gastb
Harron. • - of Xorkminster Baptist
. Benny
Karl Schuessler, Bornholm Church,. Toronto andc .
Will discuss with Don Harron
the meaning of the death of
Christ. Mr. Schuessler wilt•
present his taped interviews
The program includes
The fourth presentation. is
the hilarious comedy, The
Owl and the Pussycat by "Bill
Manhoff, An instant success
on Broadway with Alan Alda
and the late :Diane Sands, it
was later made into a Holly,
Each production ;opens on
Wednesday evening at 8:30
p.m.- and plays through,.
h... , . ..
Hinn, Toronto evangelist:.
Local residents canhear
thero gram on CBL Toronto'
at 10:04 this Good, Friday
morning on the 740 'radio'
Old Fashion Ham. & Sc¢Uoped Potato ?s
As well. Na frill menu ,
.Come and Dine at
'4 ALTON INN
Ideated' Six miles east
,of Blyth on
County Rd. 25
phane.887-9293:
ope7day
ns a, week
from 8:s.m.-7.'p.m:.,
'Steve B{unde{l
Enrolment Representative
Ontario Blue Cross.
. Ontario Blue Cross is'pleased to Introduce •
• Mr.Steve.Blundell. aSthe .Blue Cross
• Representative in your community
Experienced in the field of health -oriented
e'mplayee-benefit programs, Steve will be pleased
toshow you or your employee group the health
plan -.or combination of plans, which will provide
your employees complete coverage for their extra
Health care requirements. •
• Steve Blundell is iocated•in•theLondon .,
District Office at:,
120 York Street
London, O'ntario:..
N6A 1A0
Tel: '(519) 439-0136 .
ONTARID''.
• BLU•E .CROSS
A'DWISION OF THE ONTARIO HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION
425'
Annual
.HAM
SCUPPER
Cavan
United Church '
Winthrop`
Wed;..
April 1BW
s • 7t3O p.'m
Adults 54.00
Children. 742 52,00
Children
ander 7 free
TAKE OUT.ARDER5'.
srTh.Squ.r i, GODIERICH/Milli Corner, CLtNtON/Mu{n Corner, SEAFORTH
"OUT Of THIS WORLD SAVINGS RIGHT IN UR OWN NEIGHBOURHOOD"
We hope your Easter weekend is a fine one.
We will' be open `000 Friday ft' Easter Sunday
' - for your oonvenien+ce
P.S. We will not be Making Egg shaped
year!