Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1940-02-22
Financially Sound ?


Hjalmar Petersen on Feb. 20,
1910, to Chas. B. Cheney of The
Minneapolis Tribune, in response
to Mr. Cheney's article about
PeterSen's remarks on the Home
stead Lien law at the annual
convention of the State Associa-
ton of County Commissioners.
The letter follows:
In your column, Around the
State" of February 10, you discuss
the Homestead Lien Law and state:
''Mr. Petersen did not make very
fortunate choice of place for his
speech attacking the law, for if any
one is familiar with operation of the
old age assistance law, it is county
commissioner"
Is it your contention that for
tunate choice of a place for attack
ing law is before an audience un-
informed and unfamiliar with the
operation of the law?
The inference you seek to leave
with the reader is, of course, that the
with the law are favorable to it and
hostile to the statements l made.
Evidently you got your informa-
ton from the politically colored Fol-
wick article You infer that booing
at one point in my talk by some 25
persons out of an audience of 900,
indicated the sentiment of the entire
audience. You further state: "His
statement that there has not been
much Sinking of responsibility by
children toward their parents brought
some booS and found no defenders "
1t seems to me that you are drawing
the rather illogical conclusion that the
great majority of the audience, which
neither booed nor cheered at that
point, were opposed to the opinion
l expressed
Your article calls attention to the
statement by the governor that con-
tributions made by the children for
taxes and permanent improvements
have priority over the state lien.
But you do not call attention to the
other statement in the governors
speech in which he said: at is up to
you to use your discretionary power
in applying it. In instances where
the children have done lot for their
old folks, paid taxes, kept up the
property, or done their utmost to aid
their parents, in justice to them, you
can waive the liens"
If you will take the trouble to look
up the Session Laws of Minnesota
for 1889, Chapter 315, Sec l, Par. 9,
you will find that not the county COM
missioners but the county welfare
board is the body that can with
THE APPROVAL OF THE STATE
AGENCY RELEASE SUCH LIEN -
but only under strict limitations. The
lien cannot be released because the
children have done their utmost to
aid their parents" but only when the
welfare board feels "the collection
of the amount paid him as old age
assistance will not be jeopardized,
or that the release of the lien against
his property in whole, or in part, is
necessary for the maintenance or
support of the recipient, his spouse,
minor or incapacitated children"
The county commissioners have
not the power to waive or re-
lease the lien. If, as you say, the
county commissioners know the law,
as they do, what must they have
thought of such a statement by the
governor? Does the governor know
his own law, or was he attempting
an executive Interpretation of the
law for political reasons?
You state: "The Stassen position
as stated in his speech to the county
commissioners is that it would be
difficult to put the pension program
on a sound financial basis unless this
step was TAKEN"
The governor being lawyer
should know that for over so years
we have had Section 1857 of Mason's
Minnesota Statutes 1927, which re-
quires children to support their par
ents. He must know that this law
further provides that if the children
do not provide for their parents when
in need, the courts can order pay
ments made by the children to such
county, town, city or village as is
caring for the parents in sum not
to exceed $25 per month. And that
amount exceeds the average old age
pension.
When you quote the governor as
saying that cit would be difficult to
put the pension program on sound
financial basis unless this step (the
lien law was taken," you are vir-
tually quoting him as saying that it