Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-08
MINNESOTA CAUSES
POLITICIANS WORRY
Race, Religion, Prohibition
and Farm Relief Make Baf-
fling Cross-Currents.
BY the Associated Press.

ST. PAUL, Mimi, October Sit Is
strange mixture of political aspira-
tons, some Of them the common hertz
age of the whole Northwest, which has
drawn Minnesota into conspicuous role
in the political extravaganza Of 1928.
Farm relief, prohibition, the tariff, the
st. Lawrence Waterway and the racial
and religious characteristics of a large
| foreign population all are coming into
play in making up the decision OF No
vember g.
What that decision will be still is
disputed in these early days Of Octo-
ber By the tradition Minnesotas IL
electoral votes should belong in the Re-
publican column, and the Republican
leaders declare that within the past two
weeks they have seen the tide setting
In steadily toward Hoover This asser-
ton is contradicted by the Democrats,
who say Gov. Smiths visit here gave
impetus to. his campaign, and who are
claiming better than an even chance to
pry the State away from It's long-estab-
lished Republican anchorage.
Farm Issue Pressed.
The farm question has been the prin-
cipal lever of the Smith men. and in
public discussion this issue has outstrip-
ped every other. The Republicans have
taken up the challenge of their op-
ponents, and are presenting Mr.. Hoover
to the voters as better qualified than
Gov. Smith to deal with the problems
OF agriculture. The Democrats are
tons among the farmers. but the Hoo
yer people pronounce these claims great
~ exaggerated
The bulk Of Minnes6ta's delegation to
Kansas City was for Lowden and the
McNary- Haugen bill Afterward there
was period of uncertainty and DELAY
before the Hoover lines In the State
were definitely drawn. Senator Schall
Republican, at first said he could not
actively support Hoover, but later he
announced that he would do so.
Two Of the best-known farm leaders
In the State, both Republicans, took the
stump against the Republican national
ticket. One was Frank w. Murphy,
legislative representative Of the corn
belt committee, who. as a delegate at
Kansas City, had helped carry the
McNary Hagen fight to the floor OF the
convention. The other was j. r. Reed.
who resigned as president of the State
Farm Bureau Federation and now is
head of the Minnesota All-party
smith-Robinson Clubs"
Dry Question Is Factor.
Mnnesota's farm population is pre-
dominantly Of foreign descent, and here
the farm issue crosses with prohibition
and religion. The largest group is Ger
man, rated wet, and the next two groups
in point OF size are the Swedes and
the Norwegians, rated dry. Thousands
OF all three nationalities are members
of the Lutheran Church, and there is
among them all much talk of the re-
ligious issue. The tariff is strongly
urged by the Republicans as an aid to
the farmer, and there is widespread
interest, particularly In northern Wis
consin. In the St. Lawrence waterway.
Such is the tumble of elements which
make up the high lights OF the picture
picture which Is better understood
when 1t is examined against the back
ground of the recent political history Of
the Northwest. Throughout this whole
region, for one reason or another, the
voters have been dividing along lines
other than the old accepted party lines.
The Dakotas have had their battles over
the Non-Partisan League. In Wiscon-
sin the La Toilette offshoot dominated
the whole political field for years. In
Minnesota the Farmer-Labor Party
rose to a strength which has permitted
1t to debate seriously for State control
These various movements have not
followed parallel lines in all respects,
but they all are illustrative of the tend
ency toward breaking down of the
ordinary party distinctions What the
Democrats hope to do this year is to
extend this shifting about of party al
legiances to the national ticket or q
major scale. Itself greatly outnumbered,
n naronrrnftn 1f~.ff to- ~
a gesture toward fusion OF its national
interests with those of the much strong
er Farmer-Labor party.
Some Leaders Worried.
Some Republicans have shown frank
concern over this situation, and even
as late as last week Senator Schall told
party chiefs in Washington that the
situation In the State needed watching.
Other Hoover leaders, putting faith
both In the nominees farm proposals
and In the great preponderance of nor
NAL Republican strength in the State,
have declared from the beginning that
Smiths Minnesota campaign was des-
tined to overwhelming failure.
In the past there have been few
States SO Loyalty Republican as Mime
sofa. Her record for keeping out OF
the Democratic column is exactly as
perfect as Pennsylvania. Even in thu
Republican split of 1912 Wilson did not
get the Minnesota electoral votes. They
went to Roosevelt. -Four years later,
when Wilson swept the West, Minnesota
went Republican, though 1t was by a
margin of less than 400 votes. Harding
took the State in 1920 by $4,000, and
in 1924, when the Farmer-Labor party
Endorsed La Toilette, Coolidge had
majority of more than $4,000 ever the
combined vote for La Toilette and Davis
The figures were Coolidge, 420,759;
La Toilette, 339192; Davis, 55,e13.
The extent OF the FarmerL Labor sup
port of Smith in Minnesota has not
been definitely defined. The States
Farmer Labor Senator, Henrik Ship
stead, q candidate for reelection, has
Endorsed neither Hoover nor Smith. but
he has been making speeches attacking
the Republican policies at Washington.
The Democratic nominee for Senator
recently announced his withdrawal
whereupon the Democratic State chair
man said in public statement that the
development apparently insured the
election of Shipstead over his Repub-
lican opponent, Arthur E. Nelson.
These are but few Of the complexities
of current politics In Northwestern
State. To describe them all would f1il
a newspaper.