The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1939-08-10
The County


Strike and riot ridden Minneapol-
Is is once more back to normal and
no one concerned in bringing about
peace Is breathing more easy than
Gov. Stassen. It was sure a head
ache for his Excellency while it
lasted. Reference Is had to the
late WPA strike which was respon-
sible for two Mill City violent
deaths, many injured and a loss to
workers and merchants running
well into the hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars. Torn between a
campaign promise not to use the
state militia for the intimidation
of labor and general public de-
mand for a cessation of hostilities,
Gov. Stassen spent days dickering
with the leaders of the uprising and
finally with the aid of Linus c..
Glotzbach, "hard-boiled" WPA state
administrator, brought about a set
Element. Figuring rather poorly in
the truce was Mayor Geo. E. Leach
of Minneapolis, who conceived the
idea that the strike was a federal
matter rather than a local one and
therefore outside his jurisdiction as
regards further police interference.
He asked for federal troops and
was turned down. During the par
ley between the strike leaders and
Gov. Stassen there were many pen
ciled agreements and demands,
some of which found favor with
his Excellency, but it was Hard
Boiled" Glotzbach and his super
iors who prevailed in the finals.
Full state and local protection for
all workers if the idle WPA pro-
jects were to be re-opened was his
demand and both were agreed to
by Gov. Stassen and Mayor Leach.
True, there were some concessions,
but they were only minor, which
brought from one strike head the
remark, "it's sure a lousy compro-
mise"
Whether Gov. Stassen won or lost
public confidence because of the
parley incidental to the reopening
Of Minneapolis WPA projects is OPP
en- to argument. There is a decid-
ed difference Of opinion and time
will have to work out the answer.
Many were out of patience with the
whole thing. The character Of the
men protesting to represent the
strikers did not appeal to them.
of a settlement. On the other hand
there were thousands of WPA
workers who wanted to return to
their labor and any kim Of set
Element was agreeable to them. AS
to the six labor chiefs figuring in
the parley none of them could be
said to have real organized labor
backing. While not openly repud-
lated by state labor heads, frequent
inside remarks concerning several
of them were not at all compliment
airy. The CIO element rather than
the AFL were apparently in con-
troll. To the credit Of Gov. Stassen
1t must be said he worked long
and assiduously to bring about the
reopening Of the Minneapolis WPA
projects. Peace at any cost was his
objective and while the methods
used were not in strict accord with
some peoples idea of dignity, thous-
ands are back to work. What he
will gain politically in the matter
Of votes from those who benefited
is another question.
"a regular mad house" best de-
scribe the corridors and rooms
leading to the Executive chambers
in the state capitol, and the heat
generated last week and the pres
ent one is not expected to cool for
some months to come. Both weeks
were the finals in the matter of
Executive patronage and what the
Governor and his aids did not learn
regarding alleged ingratitude, buck
passing, broken promises, and what
not is hardly worth telling. State
employees displaying last minute dis
missal slips, friends prepared to
back them up in their protests and