The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1922-01-11
P POlitiCs Begin to
Get in Motion
SITUATION ON SEVERAL CON-
GRESSIONAL DISTRICTS AT
TRACTS ATTENTION.
By Charles B. Cheney.


Potential congressman are mingling
unobtrusively with the throngs at the
state capitol this week. No less than
three members of the interim legisla-
tive committee on education, which
has been giving hearings in the senate
chamber, have taken an interest lately
in living expenses at Washington. At
least one and probably two of them
are expected to file in their respective
districts, according to the political
gossip at the statehouse today.
The possibilities are Senator Ole @.
Sageng, in the ninth congressional dis
trict; Senator Henry N. Benson, in the
third, and Representative Theodore
Christianson in the seventh.
The two senators are studying the
situation in their districts carefullv
and consulting with their friends. If
they decide to try for congress, their
decisions may be looked for before tn
end of the month. Each one thinks of
trying to unseat the present member
from his district.
Hinges on Volstead Action.
Mr.. Christianson is in different
position. Assuming last year that
Andrew j. Volstead would not be a
candidate for reelection, he was dis
posed to file for congress. But Mr..
Volstead has made up his mind to run
again, and if he sticks to that deter
mination Mr.. Christianson is not ex-
pected to oppose him. Should any
thing happen and Mr.. Volstead should
withdraw, the friends Of Mr.. Christian
cnr 10 h,.;v, v,sl
for the district convention. Other
wise he is expected to return to the
legislature, where he would occupy a
commanding position.
Mr.. Sageng has represented Otter
Tail county in the senate for 16 years.
Originally populist, he was elected
to the senate first as an independent
and has been quite independent in poll
tis, but never stood for the Nonpar-
tisan league type of politics, and has
affiliated for some time with the repu-
blican party. If he is candidate he
will go into the republican district con-
vention and ask for an Endorsement.
Congressman Halvor Steenerson is
threatened with another opponent in
his own home town of Crookston,
where G. G. Selvig of the state agri-
cultural school is being urged for the
nomination. There is possibility of
three cornered contest in the conven-
tion. Mr.. Sageng was general cleo
tion opponent Of Congressman Steen-
erson years ago, and is strong in the
southern counties.
May Ignore Conventions.
Senator Benson would oppose Con-
gresham Charles R. Davis. They are
both ST. Peter men. Senator Benson
has been II years in the legislature
and has done valuable work in the
senate. His entry into the race is be-
lieved to depend finally on what en-
he receives from the east
ern end of the third district, where
the heavy republican vote is located.
There has been strong opposition to
Congressman Davis for several years,
but it has not been able to dislodge
him yet. The Davis organization, a
continuation of the machine built un
by Joel P. Heatwole in the last CEN
tury, has pulled the congressman
through repeatedly.
1t is possible that Congressman
Steenerson and Davis will ignore their
district conventions. The congress-
men were not consulted about the new
convention law and most of them did
not favor applying it to congress. If
the convention outlook is bad for
them, politicians look for them to
ignore the conventions and file any
way, hoping to defeat the convention
choices in the June primary.