Talk:George Hara Williams

George Hara Williams
There are quite a few things that need to be changed in this article. First of all, Williams came back from the Soviet Union a. scared shitless _ he wasn't always sure he would make it out alive and b. not at all in favour of soviet style of government.


 * the decision not to run immediately for the leadership of the new CCF - Saskatchewan - was made because MJ Coldwell advised Williams that EVERYONE would think he was communist. so whoodee doo guess who became the leader ofthe CCF - good old Major himself ( Coldwell)


 * Coldwell was not an economist nor an agrarian and had no support, he was an originial theocrat, like woodsworth and Douglas and so the party was initially split between socialist Agrarian and theocratic socialist. The theocrats gained strength in Ontario, but they were not yet affiliated with Labour and in the 30's, Agriculture and the Quints held the practical end of things, keeping the party afloat with the affiliation as the political wing of the wheat pool.  williams was not militant,  He was a popular leader who most expected to become leader.


 * Douglas would not necessarily have won the 44 election had Williams not made it home from London, Eng, in time to fight for the election. Because, Douglas had held a semi-legal coup while Williams was away ( while the cat's away the Mice will play, and we know why that parable meant a lot to Tommy) that made TC the leader of the party.  However, there were quite a few confused CCF membership who woke up on election morning to Douglas as Premier and not Williams.  The "militant" thesis comes irectly as malice and gossip spread only amoung the "theocrats" Mj and Douglas and the Ontario section, David Lewis amoung them.  Can this be proven? yes, to a certain extent from williams' journals and references of letters sent to Williams from individuals who supported the agrarian wing of the socialist party.


 * Douglas was not a provincial popular hero. he had no agrarian ties.  In those days, you had to be a farmer.


 * Labour ticket, came from Williams who disallowed JS to spread the CCF pacifist leaflets in Saskatchewan. it was the only province to be able to stop JS's action.  Williams went to war for the 2nd time and sent the right message to Labour.


 * Getting rid of Williams in 43 meant getting rid of the Quints or at least silencing them, plus others like Tom Johnstone. Once silenced, the socialist agrarians slithered out of memory and many people don't think that the CCF was ever more than the theocratic joke it became when Douglas took it over.


 * It is important to note that the prairies rare form of democratic socialism was always a blend of social gospel and economics. The 2 were inseperable and histoians will be better able to understand the structure of Williams vs. Douglas when one realizes that TC was a baptist minister and Williams was basically a non-theist married to a Quaker who was a secretary of the United Church of Canada.


 * peace
 * Jlin60 (talk) 06:01, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Bio Photo
The official cabinet picture in this article for 1944 appears to be identical to the photo used in creating "the Eighth Legislative Assembly Province of Saskatchewan 1934" framed picture in the Family archives for Norman Leslie McLeod MLA 1934-1944.GardenMulch (talk) 08:32, 11 March 2014 (UTC)