The Prime Minister and the Newspaper Boy

 

 

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada  - 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-found 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 the 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.

 

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