If you haven’t noticed, it's election time in the United States, and while it’s not our country, the outcome could have a dramatic effect upon what happens to Canada. There have been outrageous claims made, insults hurled and a media blitz that is going to make television networks a lot of money. Rules regarding voter eligibility are being changed to eliminate potential votes for the other side, and claims are being made about election interference and rigging.
I had the opportunity to participate in a recent federal election as a scrutineer, so I witnessed the counting of ballots, and can testify that the process was conducted with the greatest of integrity. It made me proud to see it run fairly and efficiently. But looking back into the past, the Yukon does not have a clean slate. The scandalous corruption in the mining recorder’s office in the early days is a good example, where a bribe could get you in the back door.
Back then, the civil service was filled with supporters of the party in power. Every job from the commissioner down to the lowliest ditch digger was doled out to the party faithful. When there was a change in government, the entire administration was replaced. Civil servants got up from their desks and walked away from their jobs, careful not to be run over by the stampede of party supporters from the winning side coming to replace them.
The election hi-jinx in the 1902 federal election raised the ire of the Conservatives when the Liberal candidate, James Hamilton Ross, won by a margin of nearly 900 votes. But Ross received more votes at certain polling stations than there were eligible electors.
In the following election (1904), scrutineers were sent to the outlying polling stations to oversee an impartial vote count, so the government machine, which supported the incumbent, Frederick Congdon, resorted to new tactics. The returning officer and the enumerators were hired by the serving administration, which provided them with lists of loyal supporters for the voters’ lists. The enumerators then went into hiding with their lists, and mobs of opposition supporters hunted them down to get their names added to the rolls. This resulted in some comical scenes, and terrified enumerators fled to the Mounted Police for protection.
To be on the safe side the Congdon machine resorted to creating a fake polling station up the Pelly River, and conspirators with stacks of ballots waited to see how many votes might be needed to tip the scales in their favour. Fortunately, someone blew the whistle on them, and the plot was foiled.
Frederick Congdon acquired his own newspaper, the Yukon World, to bolster his campaign. Today, we have television and radio networks, newspaper chains and numerous internet platforms supporting one side or the other, compounded by interference from outside nations that are creating false and misleading information. In the early days, print news was the primary source of information for voters.
Throughout the campaign the opposing Dawson City newspapers (remember Dawson City was the capital back then, and the Yukon’s largest metropolis) presented two starkly contrasting visions of the campaign. Every issue of Congdon’s media organ, the World, heralded imminent victory for its owner. A cartoon in the world portrayed Congdon shaking hands with Prime Minister Laurier. By this time, the rest of the country had already voted (the Yukon election was deferred), and the outcome of the national election was known to all.
Headlines in the World declared Congdon’s triumphal speeches at Grand Forks, as well as Dominion, Sulphur and Gold Run Creeks. After one public meeting in Dawson, the World proclaimed that Congdon was “easily Yukon’s choice.”
On the opposing side, the Yukon Sun was attacking the corruption of the Congdon machine, which was run by a man named Temple. Congdon and his supporters were lampooned by cartoonist Arthur Buel, who depicted Congdon supporters in humorous portrayals. One Congdonite was illustrated with a recognizable head, attached to the body of a snake, covered with dollar signs. Another showed an oversized Arthur Treadgold (his gold concession from the government was a topic of local controversy) holding up a tiny Congdon in the palm of his hand.
Portrayals of Congdon’s opponent, Dr. Thompson, in the Yukon Sun, are clean and simple, often with the figure of a small woman (representing the Yukon) beside or behind him. Thompson stands tall in his suit and tie, while Congdon is comically portrayed with a giant cigar in his mouth, wearing an ermine cape held together in the front by a massive safety pin. Temple, wearing his standard bowler hat, is often inserted beside or behind Congdon.
The World, on the other hand, shows a bare-chested, muscular Congdon tearing away the bonds of Conservative oppression; each tattered fragment with the name of prominent Conservative adversaries.
In the end, all of the World’s pronouncements of a certain Congdon victory were proven false. Thompson defeated Congdon by a margin of 2,113 votes to 1,495. The Yukon World barely acknowledged the Thompson victory, and implied that there were irregularities in the voting. Thompson’s victory was challenged in court, charges of conspiracy were laid, but Thompson’s election victory was ultimately upheld.
There are some parallels in the political playbook then and now. Use the media to portray the candidate in a favourable light while casting a shadow over the opponent. Try to tip the eligible voters in your favour, where possible. Attack the opponent, and deny any counter charges. And always claim victory, even after the results have been tallied.
I have viewed the workings of local elections at a personal level, and come away knowing the process was conducted fairly, unlike some of the antics from 120 years ago.
Today, looking to our southern neighbours, voters cannot make their choice on first-hand personal knowledge of the candidates, but must rely upon their portrayal in the media, and their staged performance at large election rallies. Now that’s a much bigger challenge, and I hope they make the right choice.
Michael Gates was the Yukon’s first Story Laureate from 2020 to 2023. His latest book, “Hollywood in the Klondike,” is now available in Whitehorse stores. You can contact him at msgates@northwestel.net
