Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1938-10-27
State Capitol News
BY A. I. HARRIS

Representative Dies of the now
famous Dies Shirley Temple) House
Congressional committee investigat-
ing un-American activities says that
it was incidental" that his investi-
cation of alleged Communistic activ-
tiles in Minnesota was undertaken
in the heat of political campaign.
There are certain other phases of
that investigation which are not in
cidental. For example, it was not
incidental that Mark Gehan, attor-
ney for the anti-labor st. Paul COM
mittee on Industrial Relations and
brother of one of the campaign man
ayers for the Republican candidate
for Governor, went to Washington
with the witnesses from Minnesota
and is known to have coached them
on what to say.
It was not incidental that "care-
fully" prepared statements were made
before the committee went to Wash
ington and Mr.. Gehan was consulted
and went over at least some of these
statements.
1t also was not incidental that the
chief witness before the committee
was the vice-chairman of the Ram
sey County Stassen-for-Go or
ganization, one Steve Calder. The
writer of this column has personal
knowledge of solicitation on the part
of Calder of prominent Minneapolis
labor leader whom Mr.. Calder at
tempted to induce to go to Wash
ington and testify.
Not being bound by legal rules in
regard to submission of testimony,
the witnesses were privileged to name
any persons they saw fit as Com
munists without producing any proof
whatSoever-and they had polit-
ical motive in naming a great many
An example of the kind of rot
which was submitted to the COM
mittee was contained in the testi-
mony of one Albert Kittock. Kit
took named a long list of persons
whom he said were Communists
and, to substantiate the testimony, he
IilSIlOo lllC Will q lCd1-
let in which all the names were set
forth. The catch was that the leaf
let was prepared by none other than
Kittock himself.
Fortunately for the liberal move
ment, the Dies committee has al
ready discredited itself by accepting
testimony to the effect that President
Roosevelt, Mrs. Roosevelt, William
Allen White, Clark Gable, Methodist
Bishop Ralph Cushman and little
Shirley Temple were either Com
munists or tools of Communists This
smear political holiday which the
Minnesota Republicans had hoped to
celebrate before the Dies committee
will have been that much wasted
effort.
In an effort to build up case on
a falsehood, bigotchaser Ray P. Chase
in his pamphlet entitled "Are They
Communists or Catspaws?" uses an
incident in which Negro poet de-
livered an address at the University
and he gives circulation to an ir-
religious poem by this poet, attempt
ing to make it appear that the present
administration was responsible.
Without going into the question as
to whether or not the University is
a place of free speech for persons of
all kinds of political and economic
beliefs, the fact is the incident in
question occurred in 1885, before
Benson became Governor and when
the conservatives had complete con-
troll of the Board of Regents. The libel
committee by Chase in this case is one
president of the University at the
time and who is no longer here to
defend himself.
This is typical of the entire PAM
phlet, which is not an expose of
Communism at all but is an effort
to create a racial issue in this cam
paign. Photographs published in that
pamphlet have been altered and doc
tored to make horrid-looking pic
lures. We have before us one photo
graph which has undergone COM
plete alteration-in other words what
is known in the parlance of photo
graphy as Photographic taking.
Politics under the Farmer-Labor
administration has been made to serve
the needs of the independent mer-
chant and businessman, Governor
Benson told businessman's banquet
in Minneapolis last week.
The sympathies of the business
and professional man must, the Gov
ernor said, lie with those of the
farmer and the wage Garner. His
well-being depends on the prosperity
of his customers.
constructive legislation for these
groups has been and will continue to
be sponsored by liberal legislators, -
he said. "What is your attitude to-
ward sales tax, toward high in
come tax levies for incomes under
$4,000, for unrestrained, cut-throat
competition, for elimination of taxa
ton on chain stores?" the Governor
asked.
"Quite obviously they are the same