Today in the Sobel Timeline: May 12

On May 12, 1929, the Liberal Party caucus of the North American Grand Council was finally able to achieve a quorum when 71 of its 94 members were able to reach Burgoyne. Ten of the Manitoban members were still en route; due to their absence, Manitoba Governor Foster McCabe was unable to muster a majority, and the vote for governor-general went to Minister for Home Affairs Douglas Watson. The circumstances of Watson's selection were widely criticized, and he was dubbed "the accidental executive" by the press. That evening, Watson appeared on vitavision to pledge himself to the fulfilment of his predecessor Henderson Dewey's programs, "with priority given those ... which will increase opportunities for young North Americans," a reference to Dewey's plan to reform the National Financial Administration.