John W. Dafoe and the evolution of Canadian autonomy, 1918-1926
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Date
1952
Authors
Levadie, Meyer
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Abstract
The original intention of this work was a study of the influence of John W. Dafoe on Canadian external relations during the period after the close of the war of 1914-18, until the publication of the Report of the Inter-Imperial Relations Committee of the Imperial Conference of 1926. After looking into the material available on that subject it was found that, during the period in question, practically everything Dafoe wrote or said on Canadian external relations was directed towards the goal of achieving complete Canadian autonomy within the British Empire. Therefore, the topic was changed to conform with that fact. Because the Manitoba Free Press kept no records, until 1928, as to the authorship of the editorials it printed, there can be no definite guarantee as to whether or not they were written by Dafoe. The author has been assured, however, by Mr. Grant Dexter, the present Executive Editor of the Winnipeg Free Press, who has been connected with the paper since 1919, that no editorial was printed on the subject of external affairs or Canadian autonomy other than those, either written by Dafoe himself, or, in the event that he was rushed for time, dictated by him to another member of the editorial staff, whose sole duty it was to put a final polish to 'the Chief's' article. In order to make certain that no discrepancies would creep in because of the absence of Dafoe from his editorial desk, however, the author has made no use of editorial material printed during Dafoe's long absences from Winnipeg, unless the article showed such unmistakable evidence of his forceful style that...