Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-07-12
PREUS AND JOHNSON
NECK AND NECK AS
FINAL TEST NEARS
Senatorship Race So Close
None Will Predict-German
Vote May Turn Scales.
BY \. o. MESSENGER.
Stan Correspondent Of The Star.

ST. PAUL, July 12.-This Minnesota
senatorial contest continues to be a
"hoss race" with form" favoring the
farmer-labor candidate. Magnus
johnson. and the inside dope giving
Candidate Preus a look-in of a char
acter of far from negligible impor-
lance. The elements of form" pos
sessed by Magnus Johnson are the
tremendous majority which the
farmer-labor party rolled up for SEN
ator Shipstead and the claim that the
condition among the agriculturalists
which elected Senator Shipstead are
not only existent, but emphasized.
The conditions which are expected
to contribute to the prospect of Can
dldate Preus are, first and foremost,
organization" which every practical
politician will apprecI ate; second. the
absence OF certain handicaps suffered
by Senator Kellogg in his fight with
Shipstead; third, racial distinctions,
held to be in favor of Preus
Political Experts Puzzled.
Out here in the political fray are
half dozen political correspondents
OF eastern newspapers of the "old
war horse" type who have fit and
DleG on many a political field from
coast to coast during the years agone
and who were at loss at first to
understand the strategy OF the battle
now. raging Here is United
States senatorship fight going on at
q crisis when the result NAV have
far-reaching and profound effect upon
me organization of the Senate and
the legislation of Congress in the
next session. In any other state IL
would be attended by a furore with
predetermined political effects on a
large scale. Think what would hap
pen In like circumstance in New York,
Indiana or Ohio! Why, the whole
state would be ablaze or attempts
made to set it ablaze.
iayman visiting the state now
would hardly know that a great
political fight is on. There are no
outward visible signs. No great meet
speakers. indeed there are few stump
speech efforts at all, and no attempt
to arouse popular enthusiasm beyond
the efforts of the two candidates On
the Magnus Johnson side they are
standing pat on the principles of
the farmer-labor party and John son
Swedish affiliations. On the Preus
side they are depending on organize
ClOn, on an appeal to the supposed
republican sentiment and an appeal
from radicalism. together with the
support of the Norwegians. Preus is
Norwegian of distinguished ances-
try, and membership in the Lutheran
Church. His ancestors were founders
of the American branch of that church
In this state.
German Vote a Factor,
Between the Norwegians and the
Swedes stand the Germans, a large
element Of the electorate. Neither
contestant knows how the Germans
will vote. The Germans have been
disgruntled with the republicans but
racially they are in this state as they
have shown themselves to be since
1895, when they turned the tide for
sound money on the side of con-
servatism and against such policies
as Magnus Johnson advocates If the
leaders knew how the Germans are
going to vote in this election they
could lay their bets with confidence,
for the Germans and the democrats
may decide the outcome.
You will have to take off your hat
to the strategy of the republicans
whether it be effective or not. In the
first place instead of deferring the
election until November, they called
1t for midsummer, not only to prevent
lapse of time In which the enemy
might organize, but because the farm
ers will be so busy about their own
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