Askov American., 1942-04-02

Governor can call special session.
I have asked the Governor to do so.
Tonight I again urge him to act.
The responsibility is on Mr.. Stassen
and on him alone. The Governor at
home, at election time, will have a
free ballot It seems to me only
right and fair that the men and
women in active service be given the
same privilege.
Some people say men can not vote
when fighting in the fox holes and
in the trenches, thus trying to make
us believe that all persons in the
service are always in battle. Let us
take a look at the last war. We
mobilized about five million men.
A little over two million went over
seas. Of those who went overseas,
about 65O,0O0 were never at the front.
Is the vote to be taken away from
the soldier because some may not
be able to vote? Is the vote to be
taken away from the soldier because
it will cost us little money? The
soldier is risking his life to maintain
our government. Let us give every
soldier, sailor, marine and nurse from
Minnesota a free ballot. So many
of our young citizens will be away
from Minnesota this coming election
that they may we'll be the deciding
factor.
They are toiling and sweating and
fighting and dying for you and me
and it behooves us to take thought
of them.
Let me read you a letter that I
received from a soldier in camp in
Texas. I am going to withhold the
soldiers name, but you can, if you
desire, come to my office and read the
original.
'Mr. Hjalmar Petersen, State Office
Building, St. Paul, Minnesota. Dear
Mr.. Petersen: My mother sent me
clipping of recent article by Hal
loran concerning your efforts to pro-
tect the rightful citizenship privileges
of soldiers under arms. I thank you
most sincerely, for us men in the
United States and on far off shores,
for looking after the interests of
citizens when they can not help them
selves"
An editorial yesterday, entitled
Soldiers Can Vote" appearing in
one of the great daily newspapers
in America, opens with this sentence:
"No one has greater right to parti-
cipate in the primaries and elections
this year than a man who is bearing
arms to insure that such free cleo
tions continue as the basis of our
government"
I need hardly tell you that prior
to Pearl Harbor I did everything I
could to keep this country out of
war. I am proud of that record.
But now we are at war fighting cruel,
INSCRIPTIONS, and inhumane enemies.
We can not afford to lose this war;
We must win and we will win if
we, who stay at home, do our part.
The men in the camps, at the battle
fronts, on the seas, and in the air
are doing their part. We on the home
front must do ours.
The leaders of most of the nations
at war state that the battles of 1912
may decide the war. This is a crit
ical and crucial year. Our efforts
on the home front in 1912 may well
determine whether the men at the
front can win. They must have food,
clothing, weapons and ammunition
1t is our job to see to it that they
get these things.
I have faith in the decency and
patriotism of business men, laborers,
and our farmers. But there are some
racketeers in business and in labor
who seek to profit financially from
this great emergency.
The payment of $4,000 year to
a stenographer by business concern
in Ohio holding defense contract,
is national disgrace and near trea-
son. This sort of thing must be
stopped. The boys in the army, navy
and marine corps, who are fighting
and dying at pay of few dollars
month, are the sons of farmers,
laborers and businessmen. Their
fathers and mothers are not going
to let them down. But there are
profiteers in this war, as in all wars,
and it behooves us to see to it that a
militant public opinion is on guard
against unconscionable profiteering by
anybody.
This war upsets our national life.
Every day men are leaving for serv-
ice. In a few days State Auditor