Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1938-11-04
Here And
There
By w. M. Smith

Il W WV POhtANoA SAtl
alton, l sought to get some light Q
the puzzle of Minnesota politics.
, And did 1 get some light? Ii
: deed | did. In fact l got so niue
that l was left in greater darknes
than before.
Three speakers were extOllin
the merits of their respective car
didates for governor.
The first one spoke for Mr.. Ben
son, the present incumbent.
| He told how Benson was follow
ing in the footsteps of that forme
great leader, the revered Floyd B
Olson. He spoke of the friendship
of the Farmer-Labor party for the
common people; of how Benson's
administration had saved money
for the small home owner by re,
ducing taxes and warned that his
Democratic rival was seeking only
to cash in on the accomplishments
of the Benson tenure, and declared
if the liberal policies initiated by
the governor were not supported by
the voters, if they were deceived
by the false representations of this
candidate, the benefits flowing from
these wide awake and helpful pol
icies would be entirely lost. Equal
ly lost would be the great efforts of
the Farmer-Laborites if the unfor-
tunate choice fell to young Stassen,
the standard bearer of the ~Repubh-
can conservatives, whose success
would again give control to the
banking interests and bring in it's
train all the evils from which we
are beginning to escape.
was by this time feeling very
well disposed toward MIR. Benson
and believed / was we'll bulwarked
against any argument the Demo-
cratic Mr.. Gallagher or the Repub-
lican Mr.. Stassen could advance.
But l reckOned without my host
as l was soon to learn when the
Democratic orator took up the
cudgels for his man.
He recited all the mistakes and
the harmful measures of which the
present administration had been
guilty; how far it had departed
from the pathway of the founding
father; he mentioned with rever-
ence the name of jefferson and that
great Governor Johnson. He be-
sought his hearers to save the state
from the destructive policies of the
Farmer-LabOrites and return once
more to the safety of the Demo-
cratic principles.
Before he had finished began to
waver in my favorable opinion of
Mr.. Benson and his party. Perhaps
it would be better to hesitate a
little.
Surely the Roosevelt administra-
ton had done much, in a national
way, and had spread its benefits far
and wide and without prejudice. 1t
might be that Mr.. Gallagher would
be able to promote similar helpful
conditions in the State of Mime
sofa. Yes, l had better not be in
too much of a hurry to support
Benson.
Then came on the Stassen pro-
ponent.
And did he make the fur fly!
He surely did. He didn't leave Mr..
Benson so much as a feather to
cover himself with.
Wasn't he, Benson, taking adj
vantage of the people to build a
powerful personnel clique to retain
himself in power. He was! Had
he not run the state into debt that
future generations would be called
upon to pay? He had! Had he
not burdened the people with taxes
to carry out his Utopian dreams :?
He had! Wasn't everything in the
state in terrible condition? 1t most
certainly was!
Was it not time then to return
the state to it's former allegiance
to the party of the immortal Lin
coin and to the direction of con-
sentative men and measures.
Would it not be better to again
give power to the business men
who alone understood the means of
re-estabhshing recovery so that
the many thousands now on relief
could be put back to work.
AS for the Democrats, why waste
a thought upon them. They couldn't
be elected anyway. Their only
purpose in this campaign was to
confuse the voters and injure tn
chances of the Republicans by turn
ing votes to the Farmer-Laborites
By now my head was whirling
didn't know what or whom to
believe. My first clear thought was