Evening star., 1938-07-24
MINNESOTA SEES
c. D. ?. WTALZED
Farmer-lab Control Face
Threat in Stassen, Young
and Dynamic Chief.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

SpoSini bAopulIH " lac OVAL
MINNEAPOLIS. Mimi, July 23.-
Snatching party leadership from the
old guard new Republican faction
in Minnesota is surging ahead into
fall campaign preliminaries bearing
best chances of upsetting Farmer
Labor State control since the late
Floyd B. Olson first installed his third
party administration eight years ago.
Head man and firebrand in the
flaming Republican challenge is a
political unknown, red haired, dy-
manic Harold Stassen. 3l-year- old
South st. Paul attorney. He routed
Mayor George E. Leach and Martin
Nelson, two veteran G. O. P. candi-
dates, in the June primaries and then
seized Republican control in a post
primary test that again emphasized
Stassens personal power.
So they have yielded to the maxi
mum to the brilliant new standard
bearer of the party. accepting the
overwhelming Endorsement incident
to his nomination as a mandate and
scrapping practically all of the ele-
mentS blending into the past futile
efforts to block ever-growing Farmer
Labor governmental gains.
Forceful and Cunning.
The outcome cannot be accurately
judged now but StaSSen already is in
the field capitalizing on his oratorical
ability, his sauve and forceful presen-
tation of his proposed moderate lib
eralism program and his almost un-
canny knack of matching Farmer
Labor cunning.
His success or failure in this new
"do-or-die' Republican stand in Min
nesota depends to a great extent on
whether Stassen's eloquence and de-
mands for purging State government
OF "radicalism and racketeering" does
prevent habilitation of the Farmer
Labor machine which was badly
shattered by a pre-primary split
StaSsen is bidding against Gov
Elmer Benson, who had close battle
for denomination, because of the more
than 100000 third party votes against
Gov. Benson that cut his winning
margin over the revolving faction, led
by Hjalmar Petersen, to mere 10000
votes out of a total of 420.44O cast.
The youthful Republican chieftian
! opened his run-off campaign with a
direct invitation for Petersen support,
compllmentlng the latter for as he
: said. exposing the racketeering and
radical features of their machine"
Sees "Sham Purge
Picking up the Petersen primary
campaign exhortations for "a party
housecleaning." StaSsen said: They
the Benson faction) will quite likely
try to appease the people, particularly
IN their own party, by going through
the motions of r. purge and by re-
moving some of the bosses whose
actions have been particularly OBJ
noxious. We know that if they do
these things it will be merely another
sham and deception and bosses in
volved will always keep a firm hand
on the purse strings"
Peterson's only statement since the
primary carried very little Satisfaction
to the Benson managers. He said:
I stand exactly where 1 stood before
the primary election, upholding the
ideals and principles of the Farmer
Labor party for honest and Efficient
government and the practice of Ameri-
can democracy" Cracking down with
another of his pet contentious, Peter
sen deduced that his strong primary
showing means that Communism
shall gain no further foothold among
our people. We have sealed its ulti-
mate doom in Minnesota =.
mo political party will again be
able to establish in Minnesota a ruth
less political machine Political
bosses, including those who hypo-
critially expond liberalism, submit to
the ballot, only because it is still the
law. Economic coercion and other
intolerable practices must 60. Un-
scrupulous political leaders who rule
or ruin also must 60"
While his managers worked fever
tshlk behind the scenes to restore
party harmony, Gov. Benson in his
nrst main campaign speech practi-
ally ignored State issues and talked
national issues. cracking at ALI NJ.
bandon for criticising the Roosevelt
administration in what was generally
interpreted as bold bid for Roosevelt
support in the fall election.
Democrats and Farmer Laborites.
under an alliance first arranged by
the late Gov Olsen and President
Roosevelt in the 1882 campaign, have
subsequently benefited heavily.
Roosevelt May Visit State.
The Benson speech attacking Lam
don was viewed as welcome home
invitation to President Roosevelt who
Is confidently expected to swing
through Minnesota on his way back
east. In any event. Postmaster Gen.
eral James A. Farley, chairman of
the Democratic National Committee,
will be in Minnesota in August.
A new Farmer Labor Democratic
coalition is considered almost a Ger
tainty although Thomas Gallaher,
Democratic gubernatorial nominee, has
race to stick. During the pre- primary
campaign, ne pointed to the TACT
that although Democratic guberna-
torial and senatorial candidates with
drew in favor the Farmer Laborites
In 1885, he continued in his unsuc-
cessful race for the attorney general
ship.
In his opening campaign talk Gov
Benson did take time to challenge
Republican Stassen's sincerity in his
liberal proposals, saying the conser-
vatives have adopted yes, but"
practice of proclaiming their alleg-
lance to the objectives of liberal gov
eminent and then proceeding to smear
the existing liberal movement with
blame for every minor difficulty en-
countered in making the liberal OBJ
jectves become reality"