Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 26, 1968, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press wednesday june 26, 1968 13 pitiful epitaph to 19 years of Triumph by John Robertson you could sense the vengeful killer instinct of the voters in Winnipeg South Centre from the second the poll results began trickling in. They had huffed and they had puffed and their Little tax Genie was going and seemed a pitiful epitaph to 19 years of political Triumph As you watched Duff Roblin sit there on a battered Grey Chesterfield amid stunned silence at his conservative Headquarters and stare hot holes in the numbers going up on the big Board. He wrapped one Arm around his tiny bravely smiling wife Mary and squeezed her shoulders As resolutely As the South Centre voters were squeezing the life out of his political future. The very first poll result no. 148 from a trailer Park in Assiniboia was a grim portent of an ensuing Avalanche Osier 33 Roblin 20. After five polls it was 429 to 226, Osier. After 10 959 to 527, Osier. And after the Roblin supporters began look ing at their shoes instead of the big Board. He was to win this night Only three of 225 polling stations in a defeat so brutally Swift so immediately inevitable so massively humiliating that everyone in the room grimly sensed that there would be no Road Back no second chances and no political fume at All for Duff Roblin. There was no questioning the mood of the voters or suggesting that he had been the victim of a groundswell of Trudeau mania. It was tax mania a i tuberous rebellion against All the real and imagined ills of the past Roblin provincial administration sales tax education tax provincial income tax that extra Penny paid for a loaf of bread it was All Duff s fault. And this was get even Day. Osier votes. Roblin a it was t a one punch defeat. It was a flurry of punches most of which were directed past or. Roblin into the kissers of the conservative provincial govern ment he. Left behind him on Broadway. An ominous warning that Walter Weir and co. Had better change its. Style. Several Short months ago Duff Roblin was who could have been prime minister. Since 1949, he had painstakingly geared his political career toward that end rallying the dissident remnants of party under his leadership in 1954 driving the liberals out of Power four years later and keeping them there passively underfoot through three provincial elections As Premier. The Federal conservatives began casting covetous eyes on him As Early As 1962. But he stayed on in Manitoba because he Felt he had the Job to do a Job that would prove his undoing. Last Winter when he finally the Call and came within an eyelash of winning the conservative leadership the dream of one Day being prime minister became if anything much . He was Only 50, with established National Appeal within the party and destined to Start out federally As one of Bob Stanfield s lieutenants. All he had to do was win a seat and Duff Roblin had been cake walking through elections since 1949. But from the opening Day of the , the cry in South Centre was get the and it took Only. 15 minutes on tuesday night to Plant the Shiv securely under his heart. At a festive Aura had enveloped the Roblin Campaign Headquarters. When the maritime began pouring in there were jokes about a conservative sweep. But minutes later the room fell silent As Norman Depoe announced on the Csc that the liberals had taken 53 seats and were leading in 61. The conserva Tives had 25 and were leading in Only 16. Wait until they get to the someone shouted. They waited and wept. The Nail biting reached furious proportions As Osier won the first 20 polls handily and then bitterness and frustration set in. It makes me snapped a Roblin woman worker. I Don t know How people can be so suddenly scattered applause broke out. What had Duff done said a worker. They just announced that Dalton Camp had lost his seat in the reaction typified the regional tug of War thai had put the conservatives on the defensive for most of the Campaign. Finally at 9 ., Long after All was and Mary Roblin stood up and stepped to the front of the room. Duff had entered the Hall an hour earlier with some typewritten notes in his hand. He referred to them As he spoke and then you knew that he had anticipated the worst. His was the Only smiling face in the room a proud unyielding smile that told his workers that even in defeat he was not a loser. He gripped Mary s hand As he spoke aim can say is that the electorate did t leave by Ron Campbell it has been 10 years since de Schryer was first elected to the Manitoba legislature at 22. Tuesday he wrapped up his fifth political Campaign i n Selkirk constituency with a win Over Liberal candidate Bernie Wolfe. An absolutely marvelous Campaign the likes of which i be never said or. Schryer who goes to the next parliament As the new democratic party member for his Riding. I had Good contacts and Good support in the Rural and City he said conceding that he lost a few Rural polls. In winning Selkirk Riding or. Schreyer Defeated the constituency s former my progressive conservative Eric Stefanson. Or. Stefanson won his seat by nearly votes in 1965, when Selkirk was a Rural Riding but after re distribution last year the constituency included the Urban Kildonan municipalities. After votes in the constituency s 192 polls were counted tuesday or. Sch Reyer had votes or. Wolfe or. Stefan Sou and social credited Walter Bowden 715. Or. Schreyer said that two Days before the election he bad predicted or. Wolfe would run votes ahead of or. Stefan son and that he Lii self would win by votes Over or. Wolfe. I misjudged a Little because the Trudeau he said comment ing on the strength of or. Wolfe s showing. Regardless of Trudeau mania or. Schreyer said he was unaffected by the prime minister himself whom he characterized As being non committal on issues. In a television interview or. Schreyer first elected to parliament As the nip member from the old Springfield Riding in 1965, said he had sat in the commons with or. Trudeau for two and a half years and frankly i was t but he anticipated quite a bitter fight in the next House on constitutional issues which he claimed had been misrepresented during the election Campaign. He said the next Parlia ment could be opened Early in july if there is a railway strike in the country but otherwise would Likely be reconvened after labor Day. Or. Schreyer said he ran his winning Campaign in Selkirk with 10 full time workers two times As Many poll canvassers As the conservatives or liberals and a budget of much less than that of either the two major parties. He held meetings in every Rural Centre he said and won a majority of polls in each District of the constituency. His old Springfield Riding area turned out heavily for him but the town of Selkirk was a squeak through. Though he s Only 32 years old or. Schreyer said he did t Campaign As a youth candidate. He called his win in the Riding a classic example of hard work out performing if you can t beat pm kiss pm. Duff Roblin plants a Friendly kiss on the Cheek of Jean Osier wife of Winnipeg South Centre Victor e b. Osier or. Osier led an ovation for the kissing couple and Mary Roblin joined in the applause. Or Roblin came to the Osier Headquarters just 1 hours after the polls closed to congratulate m r. Osier. By Gerry Cairns of warhorse falters Orlikov wins ii a nose by Joe Wiesenfeld David. Orlikov Veteran new democratic party warhorse won the race in Winnipeg North by a nose. In 1965, he d left his opponents in his dust. Or. Orlikov polled of the eligible votes in the Riding to squeeze by Liberal Cecil Semchyshyn by a slim margin of 997 votes. Progressive conservative candidate Gary Scherban polled and communist contender. William Ross brought up the rear with 8g9 votes. In 19g5, or. Orlikov won the seat with a majority of polling almost As Many votes As his three rivals combined totals. At the Orlikov committee rooms his supporters took the attitude that a reduced majority even a drastically reduced majority is still a majority. It is obvious that Winni Peg North is not the Island it used to or. Orlikov told his jubilant supporters when Victory began to look certain. The collapse of the conservatives Here has in creased the Liberal show behind the noise and apparent confusion at his Headquarters it was obvious or. Milikow s supporters had been through it All before. A High degree of organization was evident in the Way returns were collected and posted and in the expertise with which his workers interpreted the data. At ., or. Semchyshyn was trailing by less than votes and threat ening to close the Gap. Although there were More grim faces than smiling ones at Orlikov Headquarters at that moment no one seriously doubted the even Tual outcome. Working on their fourth election Campaign they were pretty certain of the Ivay each poll would go and pretty certain of the even Tual outcome. A great number of those in the committee rooms were too Young to vote and Many o f these sported beards and the determined features of political activists. Or. Orlikov s Youthful supporters were in direct contrast to those of or. Semchyshyn who were pre dominantly of the enthusiastic and cheerful Mold that have been flocking to the Trudeau Banner All across the country. At ., with a tally of votes to or. Semchyshyn s or. Orlikov quietly said i m in. We got it it s too bad we could t get the majority we had last time. The Orlikov troops were a disciplined army at a com Mand for quiet from a Campaign worker the excited hubbub died instantly. Two minutes alter. Or. Orlikov had expressed his conviction of Victory privately he mounted a chair and announced it. As his head Rose above the crowd a supporter shouted from the Back the room our member of another voice responded with sock it to with the unofficial Victory announcement people began filing out on their Way to a Victory Celebration w i t h out waiting for official confirmation. Before leaving a very Calm and collected or. Orlikov said in an inter View i calculated i d get 45 per cent of the vote and i did. I m things were not quite As smooth at Liberal Headquarters. Or. Semchyshyn had come close heartbreakingly close and it showed in his supporters faces. In the shoulder to shoulder a few were wiping tears from their eyes As the evidence of defeat piled up g the tally Board. A few smiled bravely in spite an obvious Effort to hold Back tears. The enthusiastic Young sters jubilant minutes be fore were silent As the clock approached and the tally Board no longer held out any Hope. Or. Semchyshyn was out Side his Headquarters get Ting a breath of fresh air and escaping momentarily from the smoke filled noisy rooms As the irrefutable signs of defeat began to pile up. As lie came Back in a worker jumped on a table and introduced or. Semchyshyn ladies and gentle men a great Guy who put up a great there was a quiver in his voice. Or. Semchyshyn the 38 year old Liberal pharmacist tasting defeat in his first Campaign stared Down at the floor As he said i m sorry that through me you will not be Able to taste the Victory that could have been ours. His supporters closed ranks around him shout ing their protestations and applauding him. His last few words to his supporters were hopeful god willing i will try any doubt about the outcome. We have to recognize that you gave me a Dir minds your hearts and so much of your time. You fought a Good and fair Campaign. But regardless of who Are winners and losers we must draw our strength from the political enthusiasm this election has Given us and turn our Back on party divisions and malice. As citizens not As politicians we have a Job to do for this country that requires the dedication of All then with a deafening ovation ringing in his ears he left the Hall to make the Long drive of the loser the trip Over to Liberal e. B. Osier s Campaign Headquarters to congratulate the Victor. He paid the Price snarled a bitter party worker for making a hayseed province into a big league Only time will Tell whether the voters have judged Duff Roblin unfairly. Conversely neither time nor de feat in any single election can dim the significance of his innumerable earlier Victorias at the polls nor the dedication with which he went about being the Best politician he knew How. While one May question the Wisdom of the taxes he helped impose on Manitoban in his years As Premier it would be cruelly unfair to question either his motives or his dedication to this province. I was quite certain we were in trouble especially during the past few he said. In 10 years As Premier there is always lots to be blamed but ironically in 10 years As Manitoba Premier the voters were with him All the Way. Until tuesday june 25 when they buried the Shiv. Trichter off Cowf David Orlikov nip Victor in Winnipeg North smiles triumphantly with his daughter night after narrowly defeating Liberal contender Cecil Semchyshyn. This Whf be s fourth consecutive term representing the Riding. Photo by Dave Johnson by debit Hodgson even underdogs have Teeth. Fangs even. Ask Duff Roblin. E. B. Osier is one of those underdogs. Victory came Osier Headquarters with scratch ing yellow Chalk on a. Green Board. There was never any doubt from the moment the girl in the mini skirt picked up the Chalk. The polls closed at 8 And by or. Osier was thanking his Campaign workers for a Job Well done. In cold Cash it took for the Osier campaigners to erase the name Duff Roblin from their blackboard. It took a lot More than Cash. A Small army of Volun Teers stumped the constituency to get or. Osier identified As the candidate. They did their Job. The scene at Osier Headquarters in the Highlander Curling club tuesday night was read. For that Brief period when the trickle of returns became first a flood and then a tidal wave the 600-plus Osier supporters were a mixture of a High school football game crowd and the gang at the roman coliseum calling for Christian blood. Sta Catto football yells punctuated each return As it went up on the Board. They were teen agers Young marrieds grand mothers and even the lady who baby sat or. Osier some 40 years ago. They were All very Happy. By the time or. Osier arrived just minutes after 9 the football yells changed to a deep in the Throat rumble of Victory. Wearing a dark Blue business a Campaign Tan and a Trudeau Orange Carnation or. Osier took one look at the tally Board and said i m beginning to believe it admittedly it was hard to believe. For a Man who was an acknowledged underdog just weeks ago he took All but three polls in the Riding. The final count for or. Osier and. For or. Roblin. New democratic party candidate fran Ces Thompson finished with votes and Independent conservative Jack Mcdowell with 622. Miss Thompson was the first of the losers to appear at the Osier happening. She congratulated the Winner and was treated to a couple of rousing bars of she s a Jolly Good or. Osier then asked his jubilant throng to take it easy if and when or. Roblin put in an appearance. Don t rub it in if Duff conies then Duff came Over. Or. Osier was out to Greet him As the Black Sedan pulled into the driveway. They clasped hands like they meant it. Mary Roblin gave the Victor a Friendly Peck on the Cheek and they All in arched Arm in Arm into the Hall. A band thundered a March As they entered and. That Liberal audience then drowned it out with a magnificent ovation for the fallen tory. Or. Roblin did t waver falter or Fumble words. He paid his respects to the Victor mentioned his Relief at not having to eat the codfish steaks which he said would undoubtedly be the diet of the conservative caucus now. As quickly As he arrived he was suddenly gone. And the Black car was pulling out of the driveway and Down the Road. Exactly one hour and 28 minutes after the polls closed it was All Over but the whoopee in Winnipeg South Centre. How did it happen first or. Osier says. Duff Roblin was in the wrong party at the wrong he admitted that there was an immeasurable backlash against or. Roblin on provincial issues not ably the five per cent sales or. Osier said the Federal election caught or. Roblin when he was Down at the wrong end of the pendulum. As for deals with the prime minister for a Cabinet Post he said there should be no such speculation and that no deals had been made or. Osier said a Liberal trend was evident across the country. The nation wants a majority government so As the Sun set. And paper soft drink cups suddenly hardened e. B. Osier became a giant killer and a Bright new political face in the West. Edmund Boyd Osier is to Ottawa ;