Saskatoon, July 29, 1910, early morning. The Prime Minister of Canada
has just arrived at the railway station; he is here to lay the
cornerstone of the first university in Saskatchewan. The province is not
unfamiliar to this leader; only five years ago he oversaw the
inauguration of Saskatchewan into Confederation. In this short time, the
province has grown tremendously and this newly-founded institute of higher
learning is representative of Saskatchewan's increasing prosperity.
The prime minister is anxious to know what's going on in the country, so
he buys a newspaper from a bright-eyed lad on the platform. He inquires
about the young man's business and expresses the hope that he will be a
great man someday. The newspaper boy recognizes his illustrious client
and shares with him some of his youthful ideas. The prime minister and
the paper boy engage in a lively conversation. But duty calls for both.
The young man has papers to sell and concludes: "Well, Mr. Prime Minister,
I can't waste any more time on you. I must get back to work."
The prime minister? Sir Wilfrid Laurier. And the newspaper boy? He is
John G. Diefenbaker, who, forty-seven years later, will also be Prime
Minister of Canada.