New Faces

When the new House of Commons meets, probably in September, there will be a handful of new members under public scrutiny. Some will be servicemen like Major General George Pearkes, V.C. winner in War I, and Lieut. Colonel Cecil Merritt, V.C. winner in War II. Both are British Columbians and Progressive Conservatives.* Some of the others:

Mrs. Gladys Strum, 38, CCFer from Saskatchewan. Since the Liberal Party's Mrs. Cora Casselman, delegate to the San Francisco conference, and Mrs. Dorise Nielsen, Labor Progressive, were beaten, Mrs. Strum will be the only woman in the new House of Commons. She is the wife of a Saskatchewan farmer, mother of a 14-year-old daughter. A good campaigner, she defeated popular Ernest Edward Perley, Progressive Conservative incumbent, who was a three-time winner, and National Defense Minister Andrew G. L. McNaughton.

Wilfred McDonald, 31, a jug-eared Liberal known as "Bucko" when he played hockey (1930s) for the Detroit Red Wings. He won in Parry Sound, Ontario.

Medley Francis Gregory Bridges, 43, perhaps the most colorful and capable of all the new M.P.s, a tall, scholarly Liberal from York-Sunbury, New Brunswick. He became Speaker of the New Brunswick legislature in 1936. According to Canadian parliamentary procedure, a Speaker cannot make a speech. So he seethed in silence for three years, then resigned and made one of the most startling speeches ever made to a provincial house. In a bull voice he roared his personal view of his own party, the opposition, the people, even the weather. Gist: they were all awful. When World War II came along, he went overseas as a major. In Ottawa last week, officials who should know were betting that he would wind up in Prime Minister King's Cabinet.

*Of the 80-odd veterans of World War II running for office, only 22 were elected.

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