Mr. McGILLIS:

I was paired with the hon. member for St. Mary (Mr. Deslauriers). Had I voted I would have voted against the amendment to the amendment.

Mr. SPEAKER:

Is the house ready for the question?

Question.

Mr. SPEAKER:

The vote is on the amendment to the main motion.

Mr. J. S. WOODSWORTH (Winnipeg North Centre):

Mr. Speaker, it is not my intention to delay the house for more than a few minutes, but to-night the Prime Minister brought into the debate the organization known as the League for Social Reconstruction. As I happen to be the honorary president of that league

Oh, oh.

You told us that.

Mr. WOODSWORTH:

-and linked with it the League for Social Reconstruction. An effort was made apparently to show there was something very curious about this league; that it represented a new political alignment of some kind, that this manifesto was delivered to the faithful after a lecture had been given to the Canadian Club, and all that kind of thing. Now, as a matter of fact, as I attempted to say in a word to the Prime Minister, the organization of this society was publicly announced some time ago. The organization was commented upon and the manifesto published in the April number of the Canadian Forum. The Canadian Forum is quite a reputable journal published in Toronto by J. M. Dent and Sons. It is obvious that the Prime Minister and his immediate associates do not read such journals as the Canadian Forum. I know in some

The Budget-Mr. Woodsworth

quarters it is considered to be somewhat of a high-brow journal; perhaps that is the reason why the Prime Minister does not read it.

I should like to suggest that there are a great many papers being published in this country with which the Prime Minister seems to be out of touch, and there is a very considerable body of public opinion which does not follow the lead of the Prime Minister and some of his colleagues. For this reason I propose to read two or three paragraphs from an editorial which appeared in the April issue of the Canadian Forum. They are:

Canada lags behind most other countries in her political thinking. But the experience of the last two years has produced a growing number of men and women, even in Canada, who have become very sceptical about the ability of our capitalistic system to produce an efficient or a happy society. Most of these sceptics are probably still more sceptical about the ability of our particular Canadian leaders in finance, industry, and politics to give us any guidance in our crisis.

Did you write that

editorial?

Mr. WOODSWORTH:

The question is

asked, did I write that editorial?-I did not. That question emphasizes the remark I made a few minutes ago, that a good many hon. members of this house seem to be quite oblivious to the currents of public opinion which are so strong at the present time. The article continues:

But individual critics are helpless by themselves; and there exists no organization in Canada to which such men and women can attach themselves with much enthusiasm. In the hope of helping to fill this gap a group from Toronto and Montreal held a meeting two months ago and decided to launch the League for Social Reconstruction.

I may say that I was not present at that meeting nor had I anything to do with its being held. However, that is by the way and I shall continue with the editorial:

The founders of the league conceive of it a kind of Canadian Fabian society, although they are quite conscious that it does not include in its present membership any Bernard Shaw or Sidney Webb or Graham Wallas or Beatrice Potter. But they hope that it may form the nucleus around which may gather a good many of those unattached critical spirits who find no haven in either of the two national political parties, and whose circumstances do not make it possible for them to join labour or farmer political movements.

As is indicated by that last paragraph, this is not a political 'but an educational movement. The members of the organization may be Liberals or Conservatives; some may 'be farmers or labour men, but apparently they do not find themselves very much in

sympathy with either the official Liberal party or the official Conservative party as they are constituted to-day. They also confess that as the labour and farmer movements are organized to-day, they do not find a place. I continue reading:

What is most needed in Canada is a clarification of our political and economic ideas. Even if the members of the new society accomplish nothing much more than to work out by discussion among themselves the practical steps in a socialistic program as applied to Canadian conditions, they will have served some purpose.

I know a great many members here are terribly frightened by the words "socialistic program." [DOT]

Louder.

Mr. WOODSWORTH:

Mr. Speaker, since I cannot obtain order in this house, I would ask you to call it eleven o'clock.

Mr. SPEAKER:

The hon. member asked for five minutes of the time of the house, but he has exceeded that time limit by over two hundred per cent. If he wishes to bring his remarks to a close within anything like five minutes, I am inclined to think the house would permit him to do so.

Mr. WOODSWORTH:

I have not been able to obtain order, and I propose to finish my speech at a time when I can make myself heard.