December 2, 1920
What was happening a century ago this week from the front page of the Cowichan Leader.
December 2, 1920
The big news of the day, of course, was the provincial election.
Incumbent Kenneth Duncan, running as an Independent, had shaved Conservative opponent George Cheeke by 113 votes but, at the time of The Leader going to press, the full provincial results weren’t known.
All of which made the two article dealing with Cheeke’s and Duncan’s last appeals to voters after-the-fact.
At the Opera House, O.T. Smythe had enlivened the discourse with his colourful tirade against what he termed Liberal mudslinging. His “Groveling in a mud hole of scurrility and slander” was one of The Leader’s favoured expressions.
Cheeke, suffering from a bad cold, drew cries of “Bunk!” and “No, he’s not!” when he repeated his campaign mantra that Duncan wasn’t an independent candidate but a Liberal hack. He then apologized for not having held a “ladies’ meeting” and said the Liberals hadn’t “done for women what they claimed”.
Duncan also held his final rally at the Opera House before a packed crowd and again denied the by now familiar charges of his having collaborated with the Liberals. There was the usual smattering of hecklers, cheers, counter-cheers and banging on a large tin can.
As for his being ineffective as an Independent, he pointed out that provincial funding for Cowichan roads had almost doubled during his two years in office.
Party government was rotten, he said, and both the Liberals and the Conservatives were rotten. The remedy was to “elect a wedge of independents” who had “freedom of action”. He challenged anyone to show he’d not acted “absolutely as an independent”.
The bottom line, as shown earlier, was Duncan’s return to office with a 10 per cent margin over Cheeke.
In Chemainus the Victoria Lumber & Manufacturing Co. was busy, having shipped 10 rail cars of lumber to eastern Canada, much of it milled from logs from Camp 6.
Candy, Christmas items and decorations were the hit of the Women’s Auxiliary bazaar which netted a substantial $160, The Leader commending those who’d worked two months to set it up and those who served the tea and washed the dishes afterwards.
Two basketball games, senior and junior, were well attended and demonstrated “good, clean and fast play,” followed by dinner and dance to the music of the Bernie Bros. Orchestra.
F. Halhed had shot a fine big buck on Sunday and the Arthur Guilbrides had a new son.
As a result of an inspection by the schools inspector, the domestic science class had a classroom of its own. Seasonal colds were the order of the day, with two women in hospital as a result. The week’s weather was wet and cold with high winds and “abnormal tides”.
In Duncan, the regular meeting of the Board of Trade was poorly attended because of competition from political rallies. H.N. Clague reported that efforts were ongoing to have a beacon installed on Bird Rock, Chemainus; hopes for a telephone on the Malahat had finally been abandoned because of the cost and “insuperable” logistical problems. MP J.C. McIntosh reported by letter that he was continuing to press the federal government for repairs to the Chemainus, Cowichan Lake, Cowichan Bay and Mill Bay wharves. McIntosh wrote that he supported the idea of a CNR branch line to Duncan and asked the BoT to be “a little more patient than seems to be the case”.
Director Monk spoke on tourist promotion and S.R. Kirkham reported that electric lighting on E&N Railways coaches was technically feasible but not financially viable for the immediate future.
The City was criticized for the poor condition of Front Street (Canada Ave.), the North Cowichan police commission had denied BoT charges of “inadequate police protection” in Chemainus, and Council declined to contribute to a Chemainus war memorial because of the one being erected in Duncan. The neglected state of the Chemainus train station again came up and the Cowichan Lake branch of the BoT was fighting for its very existence because of the lack of attendance.
Fully one-third of the front page, two columns, were devoted to Reeve Alex Herd’s talk, entitled “Old Times and Old Timers,” to the local branch of the United Farmers of B.C. at the Somenos Hall. The Leader’s sole regret was the fact that bad weather had discouraged a larger attendance. Upon conclusion Herd was given “a cordial vote of thanks...for his labour and interest”.
So it was for the week preceding December 4, 1920.
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