Liberalism swung into the Union movement and the Coalition, and the
_Free Press_ became a temporary, though independent, supporter of the
Union Government for the purpose of winning the war.

Now for the larger front stage view; how does Mr. Dafoe's attitude in
the defeat of the Winnipeg Soviet idea of government and his former
campaign against Laurier Liberals match with his attitude towards the
Farmer Movement as embodied by Mr. Crerar? The leader of the Agrarian
movement is a friend of the _Free Press_ for much the same reason that
the strike leaders in 1919 were a foe to it. Crerarism in the West
looks for the support of that paper in its drive upon Ottawa. From his
experience outwardly to the public, and intimately behind the scenes,
always concerned with building up a new Liberalism on the wreck of the
old, Dafoe endorses Crerar and his movement. When Crerar went into the
Government the _Free Press_ favoured his going. Mr. Dafoe clearly
states that, "if the Union movement could retain its Liberal elements
and produce an economic and taxation policy acceptable to Western
opinion, we could continue to support it." In contemplating such a
miracle, did he expect that the ultra-Tories would lop away from the
Union, making a "rump" party to match the Laurier Liberals, and leaving
the Union Government free to make an alliance with the Farmer Group?
This we do not profess to know. In a political age like this almost
any sort of alliance may be made for the purpose of capturing
Parliament. But a permanent alliance between Western Liberalism
represented by Mr. Crerar and the Government by Coalition looks now as
fantastic as a Coalition between Lloyd George and de Valera. Mr. Dafoe
probably knew that the Government and Mr. Crerar would lock horns over
the tariff--since any species of protection and free trade never could
sleep together. When Mr. Crerar left the Government on the budget
issue, the _Free Press_ ceased its active support of the Government and
moved its guns to a detached position. When Meighen became Premier and
in his programme speech at Stirling outlined his policy, Dafoe
definitely declared himself as no longer in support of the Union
Government. As he could not support the Laurier Liberal party, which
he had formerly opposed, the only thing left was to make an active and
open alliance with Mr. Crerar.

Such a mobile course of action is incomprehensible unless we keep in
mind the fact that Mr. D