Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1932-06-02
ISSUES WILL
BE NATIONAL
Economic Conditions of the Country
VIII Focus Attention on Federal
Legislation This Year.
BY HENRY G. TEIGAN

parent that national issues will dom
mate political thought in the 1892
campaign.
While state issues will Influence the
voters to some extent, the economic
difficulties confronting the people re-
Quire national rather than state treat
ment.
1t seems regrettable that the voters
of the country will have to turn from
the Republicans to the Democrats.
The United States is the only country
in the world where there exists no
powerful labor or radical party. In
the Scandinavian countries, Great
Britain, Germany. France, Australia,
and even Japan, the producers OF
wealth have political parties of their
own.
Here in Uncle Sans domain dol
lar-chasing seems to have had a be-
witching effect upon the workers. In
stead of realizing that their hopes lie
along cooperative lines they have
sought success through individualist
effort. That's largely why the whole
country is today on the brink of dis
aster.
Sentiment is, however, drawing to-
ward a new political party and toward
new political ideals. If there were
anything like a strong third-party or
ganization in the land. little difficulty
would be experienced in sweeping the
country next November.
S<udan<c pn;ut Nov
AS illustrative of sentiment, how
ever, recent polls among students in
universities show conclusively that the
trend is toward the left" and that,
too, in the direction of third-party
candidates.
Last Friday evening, the University
of Minnesota held mock" political
convention. The students participant
ing represented various political
groups. There were supporters of
Roosevelt, Hoover, Murray, Thomas,
and Foster. Thomas represented the
socialists and radicals, while Foster
was the candidate advanced by the
Communists.
To think that Norman Thomas, So
cialist nominee for president in 1928
and again the nominee of the party
for the presidency this year, should
lead in the balloting at the University
of Minnesota seems hard to believe.
That he should actually muster ma
jOrity of the votes in the convention
seems unthinkable. Yet that is ex-
actly what he did.
Thomas Gets Majority.
On the third ballot Mr.. Thomas re-
ceived 519 votes out of a total of 1904.
On this ballot Hoover received 436,
Roosevelt 5 and Foster (Communist)
%. There were a few scattering
votes.
On the fourth and Last ballot the
Roosevelt supporters, who had COM
bined with those supporting Hoover,
switched back and according to the
agreement between the two old-party
groups, the Hoover supporters in the
main voted for Roosevelt. On that
ballot the vote was: Thomas, 464;
Roosevelt, 446; Hoover, sc; Foster, &C.
This last ballot was perhaps more
representative of the sentiment in the
convention than that of the previous
ballots. While Thomas did not have
a majority of the votes on the fourth
ballot he did muster a plurality of IS
over Roosevelt, who had the combined
support of Republicans and Demo-
Gratis on this ballot.
Thomas Leads at Syracuse.
A somewhat similar result, though
less decisive, was achieved in the
Syracuse University on Saturday eve
ming, according to United Press dis
patch. The vote reported in the pa
pers was as follows: Thomas, 49,
Hoover, 143; Baker, los; Smith, 70;
Roosevelt, 40.
The features of the Syracuse result
were the lead of Thomas, and the
light vote of Franklin D. Roosevelt, at
university located in the state of
New York which is the home of both
candidates.
Anyway there can be no question of
the trend among the students. Condi-
lions are making an impression upon
these young minds. To be sure, it is
proper to state that Mr.. Thomas is
popular with students generally as he
is man of scholastic attachments
and possesses elements of real leader
ship. Yet it doesn't seem at all
likely that these facts explain in the
main the strong tendency toward rad
icalism SO clearly indicated in the
strong support that Mr.. Thomas has
received both at the University of
Minnesota and at other universities
in the country, including the Univer-
sity of Syracuse.
Roosevelt Showing A Surprise.
Whether the relatively weak show
ing of Roosevelt in these same insti-
tutions indicate loss of strength in
the outstanding candidate for the
Democratic presidential nomination, is
difficult to determine. 1t would seem,
however, that the standing which he
has enjoyed as the foremost candidate