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THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1951 a | IRFERAI I FARFER MA IA Ri IRIA P : LIBERAL LEADER ONTARIO RIDING CANDIDATE §= Broad Experience InVaried Fields a Bl Riding Ba Ch os od Be Qualifies Walter C. Thomson Fully & i = To Represent Mixed Constituency Walter Thomson, Dairy Farmer PAGE TWENTY In Walter C. Thomson, Liberal candidate, and leader of the Liberal Party of the Province of Ontario, the electors of Ontario riding have the opportunity of electing as their representative in the next legislature, a man of broad and many-sided experience, a man of unquestioned . qualifications for strong leadership, plus a political faith in the principles and policies of the Liberal party that is born of deep conviction and has been his life-long creed. Raised in the manse as the son of a Scottish Presbyterian minister, there is combined in Walter C. Thomson experience as a soldier on active service in World War I, as a packing-house worker when a student, lawyer, farmer and dairy cattle breeder and as active worker in and now leader of a great political party. Victory for the Liberal party in the election of November 22 would see him assume the high office of Premier of the Province of Ontario, bringing distinction to Ontario riding, as well as to his party and himself. This broad experience of Walter C. Thomson has endowed him with knowledge of the problems and needs of people in all walks of life -- factory workers, war veterans, farmers, industrialists and men in business and qualifies him beyond question to give to the people of Ontario riding an all-round representation in the Ontario Legislature. His appeal is not to one class of the people only, but to all classes within the riding. It rests on a broad basis of an understanding of the needs of all the people, and a willingness to devote himself whole-heartedly to promoting the welfare of all, whether it be a worker striving to raise his family, an industrialist aiming at keeping his factory running, or a farmer working hard to wrest a living from the soil. Walter C. Thomson has a sympathetic and understanding approach to the problems of all, and is convinced that in the policies of the Liberal party of which he is the leader there are solutions which will lead to a better day for all the people of Ontario. BORN IN MANSE Walter C. Thomson and his two twin danghters make their home on | Ontario Liberal leader with his daughters, Janet, left and Mary, right, Alloway Farm just east of the village of Pickering. Shown above are the | on the porch in front of their farm home. : (ha Liberal Leader Wins Popularity Throughout the Province Walter C. Thomson is a firm believer in making farm operations pay, j ; ? 4 Vi : i i ig E | and here he is seen looking over a shipment of milk from his dairy farm | at Pickering before it goes off to the dairy. A practical farmer, Mr. 4 Walter C. Thomson was born on December 21, 1895, in the Presbyterian Manse at Hastings, Ontario, where his father, the Rev. David Thomson, a native 'of Dun- dee, Scotland, was minister for over 50 years. One can readily understand the in- fluence of that home, with kindly Scottish parents, on the life of the man who is now the Ontario Liberal Leader, and is Liberal can- didate in Ontario Riding. He attended public school in Hastings, and then the High School at Norwood, from which he graduated and was ready to enter the University of Toronto in the fall of 1914 when the First World War began. In- stead of going to Univer- sity, however, he enlisted in the Canadian army and trained with the 93rd In- fantry Battalion at Peter- borough. In 1916 he was drafted to, the 21st Bat- talion in France. He served as an officer through many of the stirring engagements in which the battalion took part up to the grim strug- gle at Passchendaele in October, 1917, where he contacted trench fever and was invalided home. In 1918 he was given a post on the staff of the Department of 'Militia and Defence in Ottawa, and served there, with the rank of major, un- til he was demobolized in 1919 at the age of 23 years. WORKED IN PACKINGHOUSE 'On demobilization, Wal- ter C. Thomson decided on a.career in law, and entered Osgoode Hall. His minister father was unable to give him much financial aid, so he had to find employment that: would enable him to pay his way through Os- goode Hall, He was young, strong and powerfully built. So he went to work in a Toronto packing-house as a butcher to earn the money to give him the education he desired. There he was, a working man mingling with © working. men. He learned all about the hard grind of work in the pack- ing plant, listening to the problems and complaints of his fellow-workers and ac- quired a deep understand- ing of what t had to face day by daVy," and a broad sympathy with them in 'their severe conditions of labor. In those days of arduous toil as a- packing house butcher, Walter Thomson developed a knowledge and understand. ing of the needs and prob- lems of the workers that have stayed with him down through the years. In 1923, Walter Thomson completed his course at Os- goode Hall, and was called to the Ontario bar as a bar- rister and solicitor. He join- ed the firm of Dewart May, Hodgson and MacDonnell, the senior partner of which was the late Hartley H. Dewart. For some years leader of the Liberal party, and his name was soon add- ed to the partnership. Shortly after, Mr. Dewart and Mr. May died, and Mr. Hodgson left the partner- ship, leaving the firm of MacDonnell and Thomson to continue as a new entity. When Mr. MacDonnell was appointed to the Supreme Court Bench, Mr. Thomson was left as the only remain- ing partner. In 1931, he formed a partnership with Angus MacMillan, which continued until 1935. From that time on, Mr. Thomson practised law with his own firm. IN INDUSTRIAL LAW In his law practice, Mr. Thomson specialized in in- dustrial finance, and play- ed a large part in the or- ganization of _ industrial companies, and in the re- organization of industries which required additional financing to promote suc- cess. This experience in in- dustrial organization has given Mr. Thomson abund- ant experience and a thor- ough knowledge of the problems and difficulties of modern industry, a knowl- edge and experience which can be of great benefit to the industrial development of Ontario Riding. SERVED WAR VETERANS From 1936 to 1944, Wal- ter Thomson practised as a lawyer specializing in _in- dustrial finance. He tfen received a call to another field of service, a call which he accepted because it gave him an opportunity to de- vote his time and talents to the interests of the veterans of World War II. At that time many legal difficulties were arising in connection with the Veterans' Land Act, and Mrs Thomson was asked by the federal gov- ernment to take the posi- tion of solicitor for Ontar- io under ,the. provisions of the Act, and to accept full responssbility for all the le- gal angles involved in the scheme of veteran settle- ment. From the outset, this position -involved consider- able work of organization. Thomson has served in high offices in dairy farmers' organizations, Offices had to be establish- ed in Toronto, Ottawa, and London and staffed with competent lawyers and oth- er workers. Representatives had to be appointed.in cit- ies and towns all over the Province and a smoothly working organization set in motion. Mr. Thomson was in complete charge of this large organization, which in five 'years hand- led over 30,000 cases of veteran settlement in On- tarigp under the Veterans' Land Act. In this work, he not only paid all the ex- penses of 'this large organ- ization and its offices, but handled all the disburse- ments to registrars and other crown officers in con- nection with property trans- fers and purchases, regis- tration of deeds and all the many other legal details involved in settling men on their own farms and small holdings. This work again brought " Mr. Thomson into close con- tact and association with war veterans and it is safe to say that no man in On- tario has a more intimate knowledge of the problems of veterans than he has. In April, 1949, the task completed after five years of self-sacrificing labor, Mr. Thomson retired from the position of solicitor to the Veterans Land Act Board and returned to priv- ate practice, to which he devoted himself until a year ago, when he was elec- ted leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario. Since then, he has given his full time and energies to the party of which he is the leader and to organization of the whole province for the election campaign which is now in full swing. PICKERING FARMER Walter C. Thomson is perhaps. best known to his neighbors and friends in Ontario Riding, and parti- cularly in Pickering Town- ship, as a successful dairy farmer. In this role, he has acquired a working knowl- edge of the problems of the farmers of Ontario, by ac- tual experience, and under- stands what is needed to promote a sound and pros- perous agriculture. His farm, Alloway Farm, be- came known far and wide as the home of some of the finest pure-bred Ayrshire cattle to be found anywhere in Canada, His farm i§ his home and there, with his son and two daughters, he L} finds all the joys of rural living, as well as facing the problems of making a dairy farm pay It was In 1930 that Mr. Thomson bought the old Richards Farm, near the vil- lage of Pickering, remod- elled the home and farm buildings, improved the farm itself, and settled down to become a perman- ent resident of Pickering township and a working farmer. He gave careful thought to the stocking of the farm, decided to go in for the breeding and rais- ing of pure-bred Ayrshire cattle and the operation of a dairy farm as a going and profitable concern. Walter Thomson remain- ed én the old Richards farm for 15 years. There his chil- dren grew up, and they be- came just as attached to the farm life as he was. But in 1941, Mrs. Thomson died, and the Richards" farm never seemed the same without her happy personality. In 1945, he sold the Richards farm, and bought the old Dale farm exactly opposite it on High- way No. 2. There was a fine old farm house on the pro- perty, on a high knoll over- looking the road. So, in- stead of building a new house, he remodelled the old farm house, installed mod- ern conveniences and cre- ated the modern home in which he now lives. He built a new barn and other farm buildings, and went on with his plan of maintaining the best herd of Ayrshires he could get together, and op- erating the farm as a pro- fitable concern. His son, David, took to farming as a duck takes to water, and now looks after all the de- tails of managing and op- erating Alloway Farm. ACTIVE IN ASSOCIATIONS Apart from the operation of his own farm, Walter Thomson has served his fellow-farmers well in their organizations. He was act- ive in the affairs of the Canadian Ayrshire Breed- ers- Association, and in 1937 that organization honored him by 'electing him as its president, the highest distinction which can be given by that Do- minion-wide organization. He also served his fellow dairy farmers of Ontario County well, and was presi- dent of the Ontario County Milk Produters Association for a continuous period of 1 \ Popularity of Walter C. Thomson as feader of the Ontario Liberal Party | him at the Ontario Liberal convention at which he was elected leader is evident by the enthusiastic receptions he is receiving all over the a year ago this week. province. Above photograph shows a group of his supporters acclaiming | t ten years. He also was zeal- ous in assisting his neigh- bor farmers making a start with the Ayrshire breed, supplying many of them with pure-bred bull calves without charge, in order to give them a start in the right direction. All of this has given him a thorough knowledge, from actual "experience of the problems and needs of agriculture and the men who wrest their living from the soil, problems and needs which are of great concern to the provincial govern- ment, and towards the solu- tion of which he is equip- ped to make a major con- tribution. LIFE-LONG LIBERAL Mr. Thomson's interest in politics and in Liberalism dates back to the election of 1911, when as a 15-year- old boy he listened to the debates of that fateful campaign. His interest deepened during his over- seas service in the First World War, and he has been an active Liberal par- "icipant in every election since that time. His voice has long been heard in no uncertain tones in the coun- sels of the Ontario Liberal Party. Mr. Thomson's activity as a Liberal became intensifi- ed in the last 12 ears. He was for six years a mem- ber of the management committee of the Ontario Liberal Association. He be- . came president of the To- ronto Liberal Association in 1942, His interest then broadened to his home con- stituency of Ontario Rid- ing, and to the Central On- tario Liberal Association, and for the three years from 1944 to 1947 he was president of that associa- tion. In the election of 1945, he was chairman of the speakers' committee for the Province of Ontario and appeared on the plat- form in practically every riding in Ontario. His first bid for leadership of the party was at the Ontario Liberal Convention of 1943, in which Harry C. Nixon was elected leader. Mr. Thomson was a candidate, and while he was unsuccess- ful, his address accepting nomination was the out- standing speech of the whole convention, and is still remembered. In the provincial election of 1945, he contested the riding of Toronto St. George's. as a Liberal candidate, but while unsuccessful, he put up a splendid fight against Hon. Dana Porter, Ontario's At- torney-General. ELECTED TO COMMONS In the spring of 1949, Mr. Thomson was chosen as the Liberal candidate for On- tario Riding for 'the gen- eral election of June 27 of that year. He fought a splendid campaign, with a spirit of courage and ag- gressiveness, and a deter- mination not to stop until the last ballot was cast. The great appeal which he made to the electorate of the Riding was shown by the majority of over 3,600 with which he was elected as member of Parliament for the Riding of Ontario. At Ottawa, Mr. Thomson labored unceasingly for the interests of the Riding. He was zealous in promoting its interests in party cau-» cus and in the work of com- mittees of which he was a member. No reques§ from individual constituents went unheeded, and his influence in government circles was shown by numerous grants and other concessions se- cured for municipalities in his constituency. CHOSEN AS LEADER In November, 1950, at the Ontario Liberal Conven- tion in Toronto, Mr. Thom- son attained the goal to- wards which he had set his eyes in 1943. In a keenly fought leadership contest, with eight nominees, he was chosen leader of the Liberal party of Ontario, and was pledged the unani- mous support of the party. It was recognized that here was a man who could give Liberalism in Ontario the dynamic leadership it re- quired for victory in the next provincial election. During the year since: then, Mr. Thomson has travelled all over Ontario. Up. to the. opening of the present campaign, he has addressed 117 meetings, and had visited every rid- ing in the Province. He had set up the organization re- quired for victory, and that organization was ready for decisive action when the election was called a few weeks ago. Mr. Thomson is confi- dent, too, that just as they did in the federal election of 1949, the electors of On- tario Riding will elect him by an overwhelming major- ity on November 22, so that he can .give them the full - time representation to which they are entitled and which they deserve. As their member in the Legislature, Walter C. Thomson is well qualified to give outstanding service to all the various classes of people who live and work in this mixed urban and ru- ral riding of Ontario. His experience has been so broad, his interests so var- ied, that he can meet with any group of citizens, talk to them in their own lan- guage, discuss with them in a sympathetic and intelli- gent manner, their prob- lems and difficulties, and work with them in co-opera- tion, for their solution. As one who worked hard asa laborer, as a veteran of World War I, as a prac- tical and successful dairy farmer, as a man with broad experience in hand- ling the problems of in- dustry, and as a Liberal of strong convictions that his party alone 'has the hu- man approach to the wel- fare of all classes of the people, Walter C. Thomson asks for the support and the votes of the electors of Ontario Riding in the elec- tion of November 22, ONTARIO RIDING LIBERAL ASSOCIATION a