Speech before Congress by US Senator Ernest

Lundeen, (Farmer-Labor, Minnesota)

Senator Lundeen gave this speech detailing the history of the
Minnesota Farmer Labor Party on August 15, 1940

Lundeen served in the United States Army during the Spanish-American War. He served as
a Republican from Minnesota in the United States House of Representatives, from March 4, 1917
to March 3, 1919 in the 65th congress. As representative, he was one of 50 Congressman to vote
against the declaration of war against Germany on April 6, 1917.v He served as a Party member in
the House from March 4, 1933 to January 3, 1937 in the 73rd and 74th congresses. He was
elected to the Senate in 1936 as a member of the Farmer-Labor Party. He served from January 3,
1937 in the 75th and 76th congresses, until his death. On the afternoon of August 31, 1940,
Lundeen was a passenger on Flight 19 of Pennsylvania Central Airlines, flying from Washington to
Detroit. The plane, a Douglas DC-3, flew into turbulence from a thunderstorm. The plane crashed
near Lovettsville, Virginia and all 25 persons on board were killed, including Senator Lundeen.
 FARMER - LABOR PARTY-- A POLITICAL PATTERN FOR AMERICA

Mr. LUNDEEN. Mr. President, we have listened to Demo-

cratic and Republican doctrines. We have heard the plat-
forms and programs of both parties. The national conven-
tions and the speeches delivered there have found a place in
the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. Yet unemployment continues.
The crisis is still with us. It seems to me that at this time
a few words about the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota are
timely and proper.
Let me say in that connection that at the present time I
happen to be the only representative of the Farmer-Labor
Party in the United States Senate. I therefore feel that I
should present its creed, its program, and its platform for the
information of the Senate and the Nation. - - -
HSTORT AND PURPOSES OF TFIE MYN-NESOTA POSZS3.CLL MOV12AM t'T OF
WORKFRS, FARAII^S, AND tNDEFE.\'DE T BUSIN S AND PROFF-Sfi2ONAL
GROUPS '" .^...

The Farmer-Labor Party is the answer of the' common

people to the challenge of monopoly and special privilege.
Although there are political efforts recorded in the history
of this country of movements similar- to that" which took . ,
place in the Northwest, these were feeble and sporadic; and
lacked "staying" powers. But they were straws in the wind
and pointed toward the formation of a great liberal party. = - "
a party destined to see its birth in Minnesota Our party,
represents the first successful political- venture of its kind.-`.
It is no longer an 'experiment-4t has cone of age and-,
points the way to the political future of America. a'
 protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)
Notice: This material may l
1940 CONGRESSIONAL.-RECORD--SENATE-',
tHZ AxEer -A- Wiz
Ae Farmer-Labor Party is the most truly American party
in the political arena today. It combats the forces which- From his Sherburne County farm Kelley caroused his fellow
are destroying the American way of life--the way of life as
the fathers expressed it in the Declaration of. Independ-
ence--the -right :of the people to "life, liberty, and the pur- public interest in the West. The Grange .-farmers demanded-
suit of happiness," and the guaranti es contained in the
Bill of Rights-the way of life as the immortal I.incoln con-
ceid it, "government of the people, by the people, and
for the people."
LMI ICAN WAT OF LL°E CU Ar • ENGM
Only one deliberately blind-one who does not want to
see the truth-Rill dispute that the American way of life
is- gravely challenged today, not only by foreign ideologies,
but by powerful forces within our own land. -
The fact that there are more than 10,000,000 able-bodied
men and women in America today, anxious and willing to do
useful work but unable to obtain employment, is evidence
of how serious this challenge is. The fact that those who
till the soil and raise the foodstuffs to feed our Nation are
unable to attain even a semblance of economic security is
evidence of the same thing. If we seek for further proof, it .had defied regulation. -
is to be found in the lack of opportunities afforded our
youth; in the slow economic strangulation of the inde-
pendent merchant in unfair competition with chains and
monopolies, and in our inability to create a standard of
living even remotely commensurate with the vast wealth
we are able to produce.
OLD PASTIES HAVE rAII.ID -
Neither of the old political parties has shown either the
willingness or the ability to meet this challenge--to tackle
the problem in any but a superficial way. This is principally
a:
so because the forces depriving the people of opportunity
exercise positions of power within these parties.
jere is an old proverb which says, "He who pays the
piper calls the tune.". Wall Street has been paying the
piper of both the old political parties most of the time, and
the tune that Wall Street calls is not sweet music-to the
ears of the common people.
Pzoca sITE ASCENDENCY TE MPOSAET
It is true that occasionally the progressive forces in one
of the old parties may gain the ascendency, but the control
they exercise during such periods is neither absolute nor
is it over any great period of time. .4
The progressive program cannot be carried out in full.
Compromises with the conservatives and reactionaries in-
variably result. Ultimately, the latter gain the upper hand.
It is only when the common people obtain control through
a political movement of their own that their aspirations will
be advanced in accordance with he finest traditions and
ideals of our American democracy. That is the mission of
the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota.
rA.EMES AND W ORKER YtADITION
The tradition of joint farmer and worker political action-
the Minnesota tradition-Ls of long duration.
Ignatius Donnelly-that leader of so many of the people's
struggles of the last century-persistently urged farmers and
city toilers to join hands in independent political action.
Though he made his most fiery appeals for joint action in
1893, the tradition of the bond between these two groups of
the producing classes in Minnesota had already had a digni-
fied history.
in 1892 James B. Weaver, leading the Peoples' Party, polled
more than 1,000,000 votes for President, there being no woman
suffrage and only one-half of our present population.
rL=T zZnV f ST GRAN=
This Minnesota tradition goes back to the days of the
Orange, the great farmers' reform movement of the seventies,
. afti3ich was directed against the excessive rates and the un-
regulated piracy of the railroad speculators. This movement
was begun by small farmers , eager to reach their markets
without having to turn over their prdlts to the powerful rail-
road combination in the fora of freight charges.
No. rf4 ^'
T5907 -
The Grange was developed by a'Mfnnesota farmer with a
genius for organization-- Oliver H. Kelley, of Elk River.
farmers into taking the lead against the growing monopolies,
of which the railways were the worst offenders against the . .
readjustment of the tax burden soy that the trusts and cor-
porations would pay their share; regulation of freight rates,
and an increase in the currenc y su pply rt
.W _ -
ADOPT POLITICAL ACTION
The Grange went directly into politics with its own State
party, and was successful in securing the balance of power in
the legislatures of the early seventies. These bodies passed
the first State laws regulating the railroads, and the debates
on this legislation did much to acquaint the public with the
true facts concerning railway stock watering and land grab-
bing. - -
The lasting effect of the Grange agitation was assured when
the State supreme court ruled, in 1876, that the legislature
had the right to regulate rates and fares. In this outcome
the Grangers could hail a real victory, because the railroads
-_ - - - / EEASQN POE GRANGE PAII.IIEZ
But because of the rather restricted views of the Grangers
and the uncertain fortunes of their political parties on the .
national field, this early farmers' movement faded away, until
there were no locals left. Today the Grange has again found
its place among the rural organizations, but in no way com-
parable to the early years.
The chief lessons of the Granger years were that farmers,
combined in their own political organization, could be the
controlling factor in a State, and that they voiced the de-
mands of all the common people against the oppression of
Wall Street. -
These lessons formed the basis for broad, political action.
FAST.^?FC ONITIa _. .
Thus we find that liberal leaders such as Ignatius Donnelly
wisely refused to let the farmers disperse. More action, more
reforms, more demands for a proper share in the fruits,},pf
life, should be the aim, Donnelly insisted.
With new oppressors in the form of grain gamblers funnel-
ing off the living of growers, and the great employers resisting
all efforts by workingmen to make a decent living for their
families, it was only natural that the people turned to inde-
pendent politics again. The records of the two major political
parties made it plain enough that nothing was to be gained by
supporting the politicians in those camps-politicians who
were already in the camp of the enemy.
LABOR JOINS MILITANT PAF-MZ S
The eighties therefore found the farmers back in the politi-
cal field, and this time they were joined by the workers in the
factory, foundry, mine, forest, and upon the boats and rail-
roads. The farmers organized themselves into the Farmers'
Alliance. The workers formed great industrial unions and the
pioneer national federation of labor, the knights of labor.
These two great groups, who produce virtually all our
wealth, discovered that they were both being ground down by
identical forces, and that these forces had pretty much to say
about how the Government should be conducted and for
whose special benefit it should be operated. Whether it was
tlle railroad speculators or the grain gamblers who fleeced the
farmers, or the open-shoppers who fought unionism, they were
part and parcel of the same group who manipulated Govern-
ment to keep the people down.
At first the two groups of producers backed whoever pledged
himself to the farmer-worker program of change, and in this
way came to control the legislature of 1891. But so many of
the legislators thus supported betrayed those who elected them
that the farmers and workers had to form their own State
party in 1892
IX rArurrc' AL.zIL:CS l
In those Congressional Districts, mainly ru; al, the F'armers'
Alliance was the chief political factor, In the cities the labor
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1590 , - CONGRESSI-ONAI; ,RECORD ENATE- A GUST 15

t
unions became powerful forces to -reckon with. Thus the 'Period of the muckrake writer, exposing-malpractices of busi-
fa ers of western Minnesota sent the Norwegian immigrant ness and politics alike. It was the period of. the revolt of the
farmer, Kittel Halvorson, to Congress as their own candidate, small-business and professional -man against,=-his powerful
and the farmers of southwestern Mmnesota.got behind an- competitors. Among the workers it was even-more-it was a
other Scandinavian tiller of the soil, Haldor -Boen, sending time for seriously considering the doctrines of a new collective
him to C3ongress also social order.-. . t. - =
'In-the city districts, many reactionary Republicans were 4 PROGRESSIVES IN corsou ^. a ;
turned out of office and replaced by liberal Democrats. - - ` - - The progressive era in Minnesota was marked by the liberal
FFInally, in 1896, there arose from the ranks of the progres- administrations of the popular Democrat, John A. Johnson,
sives a great liberal; and one of Minnesota's foremost men, - who. was elected for three successive terms for Governor by the
John Lind. Lind made the race for the governorship on the reform forces. If he had live, Johnson would almost cer-
Democratic ticket, with the support of the Peoples Party. He tainly have been the Democratic candidate for President in
lost by a scant handful of votes against the old guard Repub- 1912, and most certainly would have been elected. He had the
lican machine, and sent a thrill of hope throughout the State. enthusiastic support of Grover Cleveland and other powerful
In 1898 he again made the race and this time carried all political leaders.
before him.- In that-election Governor Lind received the He might have sat in the White House instead of Woodrow
enthusiastic support of the veterans of the Spanish-American Wilson. It was the period of trust-busting, and Minnesota
War in whose Army he so ably. served. This was a great sent many sons to Washington because they were anti-
victory for the populist movement, the farmer-labor move- monopolists.
went of our fathers, and the boys in blue. LaDBEeGH-SFNBOL of NEW REVOLT
CAMPAIGNS EEPBE SEN-M CAUSES Most prominent of these was the late Congressman, Charles
t
Political campaigns during those years were more than A. Lindbergh, father of the colonel who was to be the first
simply contests between personalities. Person to fly the Atlantic Ocean alone. A small-town lawyer,
The people were thoroughly aroused to the menace of im- a Progressive Republican who believed passionately in the
mensely wealthy trusts controlled by a few bankers, which, in rights of the common man, a thoughtful student and search-
turn, controlled the affairs not only of cities and States but ing critic of our economic system, an expert in the matters
even of the Nation's greatest deliberative bodies, as well as the of currency and banking, a whole-hearted peace advocate
living conditions of millions of Americans. - when most of his fellow-Americans cried hysterically for war,
The Grangers and the Peoples Party were the true predeces- Congressman Lindbergh became Minnesota's symbol of the
sors of the Farmer-Labor Party of our time. They knew that new revolt.
they were fighting a financial machine that threatened to Another Minnesotan who contributed the best years of his
gain a stranglehold on the Nation. They were opposed to life to the progressive cause was Senator Moses Clapp, a keen
rule by a financial oligarchy; they wanted a different mode of lawyer, a liberal whom no party clique could dominate, and
life, in which there was employment and security for all. It a friend of the masses. He was one of La Follette's admirers
was the-early phase of a struggle that is still continuing today; and close associates during the days when big business was a
It is surprising that they saw so clearly. Power which few public men could withstand. But Mid
WOBSFD FOR POPULIST cevs: sota had faith in these men, because they carried forward the
who worked to make the cause of the Progressives.
Among the prominent Minnesotans -
E UNIONS GROW POWESFUL-PARnrr SOME AROUS
Populist movement an instrument of change were the late "'"
Sydney M. Owen, farm journal publisher;, the late Thomas At home the workers had rallied from the first great open-
Meighan; Sylvanus A. Stockwell, that grand old man of Min- shop campaign and their trade unions pushed the good work
nesota liberalism; and the other veteran. of 50 years on the into many towns and cities in Minnesota. The railroad
firing line, Victor E; Lawson, Willmar publisher, workers especially became strong. With their increased
The chief objective of the Populist revolt failed, however. strength they also became progressive and forward-looking.
The trusts, under the watchful care of the McKinley- Hanna The trade unions possessed a militancy and social vision -
Republican machine, grew even more immense . The turn of which made them a prominent force in the community.
the century saw the speculators and profiteers firmly in the Among the farmers, who had been so completely crushed
saddle,--the people's movement crushed. It was crushed by by the defeat of the Populist uprising, the spirit of insurgency
fusion with the Democratic Party in 1896 and 1900, and the developed more slowly. Not until the cooperative movement
Illusion of following a silver tongue into the wilderness of old had caught its second wind in the late nineties did the farm-
party promises. They were swamped and submerged, never to err become fully aroused. Then, in Minnesota, appeared cer-
rise again. tain signs that the farmer was once more preparing to go on
The new attack of the reactionaries was upon the trade- the march against big business and Its paid politicians.
union movement , which had re-formed into the American ISAGA'US JOHNSON , FARM LEADER -
Federation of Labor. Several leaders were responsible for reawakening the tillers,
The big industrialists threw open their immense reserves
and among them must first be mentioned Magnus Johnson,
to finance a great open-shop campaign, which had for its a dirt farmer who also in his youth was a city worker. He
object the complete destruction of the trade unions. They
became interested in both worker and farmer movements, and
had the effrontery to call this the campaign for "the American
later was to become one of the founders of the Farmer-Labor
plan." - Party and recipient of the highest honors within the gift of
NEW CHAMPIONS API.SL IN NATION
the voters of Minnesota--a seat in the United States Senate.
The farmers' organizations were already routed, and nothing Although Johnson saw clearly that it was necessary for the
seemed to stand between the big financiers and industrialists survival of farmers to elect honest progressives to office, he
and absolute domination of the Nation's life but the labor also realized that farmers could do much for themselves by
unions. The arrogance of Wall Street was so great that the cooperatJ' n. Accordingly he spent such time as he could
people again began to stir angrily. In the West new voices spare from his own farm to organize . cooperatives--cream-
took up the cry for economic freedom. eries, elevators, telephone companies, insurance companies,
Leading this new movement was the late great "Fighting and shipping associations., He and fellow farmers devel-
Bob" La Follette, of Wisconsin. As Governor of his State, oped the first of hundreds of livestock-shipping associations
La Follette pushed for regulation of railroads and the great in the Litchfield neighborhood in 1910.
corporations, which was more urgently needed than ever
before.
By the time -Fighting Bob" took his seat In the 'United Important, also, as a progressive farm leader-although
States Senate in 1907 the whole West--arid many parts of the he was not a farmer himself but an independent business-
East as well -were again ready to take up arms. It was the man-was the late George S. Loftus, of St. Paul.
 Notice: This material may t^- protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)
CONGRESSIQNAE_ RECORD= SFN A TE-L_^T.- ^.
In Minnesota before the war there was-lust one iarm ar
ganization which had influence.
This 'as the American Society'of Equity, which preached
cooperation for every phase of the farmers life. Magnus
Johnson was State president of this. pioneer group., It or-
ganizd in, 1911 the now' famous Equity Cooperative Ex-
change-the first grain-marketing -cooperatives to appear in i
this country. :its offices were in Minneapolis; but -mt. until {
the`-armers:hired George 'Loftus to manage : the. exchange
did it .develop into a formidable rival to the private grain
t x
concerns.
AT rZ KPr TO DL4'EOT CoOFERATZVFS
The grain gamblers did everything possible to destroy the,
farmers' marketing organization . But due chiefly to the
energy and intelligence of George Loftus and faithful farm-
ers like Magnus Johnson, A. F. Teigen, Anthony C. Welch,
Bert Cole, John Bosch, Sr_, Mike Foley, Nels Peterson, Ole
Dale, P. O. Pierce, and others, the Equity Cooperative Ex-
change lived and grew until it was getting 20 percent and
more of the Twin City grain business. -
Chief among Loftus' assistants were James Manahan and
Benjamin Drake, liberal lawyers, and M. W. Thatcher, auditor.
The exchange stood as a bulwark for the entire cooperative
movement which was developing so rapidly in Minnesota
and the other States of the Northwest. ,
TO T1E POLITIC AL FIELD - - -
It was in these organizations that the farmers rallied for
a new try at political and economic emancipation. The
workers' movement, while developing independently, retained
its traditional friendship for the farmers. At the same time
the independent small-business and professional people-in
whose name the progressives spoke-also felt tied to the
great producing groups, in their fight against a common
enemy. About it all there was an air of crusade. Men and
women acted in the'name of a cause which was very real to
them. - -
It is also significant to note that in the election of 1912
more than 25 percent of the people of Minnesota voted
against both the two conservative parties and for protest
candidates in the campaign for Governor . - In that year the
Bull Moose Progressives, led by ambition and selfishness,
proved abortive and futile. - The voters had steadily become
more independent of the two parties during the period of the
insurgency, and now 1 voter in 4 refused to tag along with
either of the two major camps. The time for independent
action was near.
THZ NOATAETLSAX LZAGVF aA9MM3 FAEMZR - LABOR DECZ.OP]SENT
Two events at this time hastened the development of the
progressive movement in Minnesota which was to find its
fruition in the Farmer-Labor Party.
The first of these events was the sudden, almost miraculous
rise of the farmers' Nonpartisan League in the neighboring
State of North Dakota during 1915 and 1916 . The other was
the overwhelming blight of everything progressive and decent
in the war hysteria which culminated in our being dragged
into the European battlefields in April 1917. These two
events, plus the insurgent spirit of the masses, produced the
Farmer-Labor Party.
In North Da kotajhe wheat farmer had been suffering from
a combination of low, uncertain prices in a speculators' mar-
het, high-debt charges, and adverse weather. By 1915 the
grain farmers of the Northwest were generally in desperate
straits. Added to his production and marketing problems
was the oppression of a railroad -dominated political tyranny
practiced by the two old parties. Although the North Da-
kota farmers had voted overwhelmingly for State- owned ele-
vators and other measures designed to protect him In a gam-
blers' and lenders ' world, the State had Ignored their man-
date. - sota, both In the cities and In the country districts. -
Equity societies and their cooperatives were a strong ln- 1
fiuence in North Dakota, and the campaign for State elevators
came to a head at a meeting of the State equity farmers in
February 1915 . The legislators were told that the elevators
must be built, and in reply these gentleman told the farmer to
"go home and slop your hogst"
The farmers were,-of course, furious.;-They.were more than
ready to listen to a young man who drove into-their barnyards
with a plan for a p9liticaiTleague of the farmers and for the r
farmer& _ The man;-was Arthur C. Townley. a native Minne-
sotan who had been ruined as a farmer. Shortly the Non-
Partisan league had thousands of members. -In 1916 it swept
the elections in North Dakota, electing a dirt farmer as Gov
ernor,_LYNN J. FaAzE m Active in the league with Townley
was the Present Congressman, Wrr.T.TFM F_ L r 4 '
In' the summer of 1916, league organizers began to-
Minnesota farmers, who saw in the new plan a means of
salvation- - The league national office was established in St.
Paul the next year, 1917, and the Minnesota farmers looked
forward to a similar victory in 1918.
Official league data reveal that league membership in
Minnesota in June 1917 was only 10,133, while that of North
Dakota was 43,184. This figure, of course, does not show the
actual league influence in Minnesota- For every farmer, there
were 10 ardent sympathizers who were prevented by extreme
poverty or by fear from joining the league.
By June of 1918, however, the Minnesota league had at least
42,000 members. It is safe to say that these thousands were
the most active, courageous, and influential farmers in the
State. -
The first State committee of the league was headed by resi-
dent farmers appointed-by President Townley and included
Herman F. Sprung, David Paquin, and L. E. Samuelson.
George W. Griffith, of North Dakota, was named the first State
manager. He served the league in this capacity for several
years. As the league swung into full activity the cooperators
and farmers of the equity group-including Magnus Johnson,
James Manahan, Ferdinand Teigen, and others-joined in
the efforts to make the farmers' movement a success.
The league plan,for Minnesota was slightly different than
that for the other States, and included- demands for State-
owned packing plants, elevators, and flour - mills; State rural
credits, a tonnage tax on iron are, and State-owned pulp-paper
mills. This program remained much the same during the life
of the league in Minnesota.
TSE FIRST WOE= WAR - ,. .
Of the other event of this period, the World War, little can
be said that is not familiar to everyone who lived through
those days of dreadful hysteria. How the European war be-
gan in 1914 as a clash of economic rivalries , how the tension
was so keyed that when. two rivals decided to fight, all the
empires had to fight in order to preserve their fields of ex-
ploitation, and how slowly and surely the United States was
drawn into that camp which carried on the most cunning war
propaganda. These are now matters of recorded history.
X Erb- ISOTA I rEn? 9LS FOR PEACE
In Minnesota, the peace sentiment was so intense that the
war bowlers soon singled out the State as being one of these
distinctly favorable to Germany. The more accurate fact is
that Minnesota early made its stand for peace and neutrality.
The people of that State adhered to the Lindbergh-Lundeen
policy, America first-absolute neutrality.
The Minnesota peace and neutrality societies had many
thousands of members, and there were other groups almost
as influential. The trade-unions and other liberal groups
with whom they were closely allied demanded-through their
press, their official spokesmen, by means of rank and file
declarations--that America keep free of the quarrels and
boundary disputes of Europe and the .Old World.' -
The Non Partisan League farmers felt the same way They
knew that they had nothing to gain from this country becom-
ing involved in war. Peace sentiment ran strong in Minne-
6-_AND A¢AMEr 'WAR = =rz1L
But the war spirit was fanned to a fever pitch throughout
the Nation, and many liberals, swept off their feet, deserted
to the warmongers ... --,
- In the IZationls Capital In Cangre s, "Fighting Bob" Le,
Follette, our beloved George Norris, Lane of Oregon, Gronna
 Notice: This material may t^ protected by copyright law (title 17 U.S. Code)
15910 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE
of NortfiMakota, Vardaman, and Stone in the.United States
Senate and 50 Members of the House of Representattves, m
cluding ,^indbergh, Clapp, and Lundeen of IAlnnesata, stood
)out zgainst the rising tide of few and the
great, voiceless mass of the,people.;
C,.: weracoNGEKIN^ seas enMnv-MTR&-ma
In Minnesota the first to take up the cry for war was the
shameful"R publican State administration. War was hardly
- a fact for America' in ,Aprit- 1917 when this administration
was able to wring -from-- the legislature grant of powers
ex heeding even those given the. Preside_n_ t. P -
The notorious Commission of Public ..Safety was organ-
ized. Its objective was declared to be coordination of war
activities in Minnesota.
But what was obvious to everyone was this: The com-
mission was much more interested in smashing the militant
farmers' movement, the trade-unions, and the peace and
neutrality advocates than in any other purpose. Union men
were forbidden even to wear their union buttons. Farmers
were refused protection against mobsters at their rallies.
Those who denounced the war for what it was- a war to
rescue American 'dollars in Europe-were stoned and beaten,
tarred, and shot at.
0=-AGES ENrOUR&CE
The houses of liberal leaders who had opposed the war
were painted yellow and even riddled with bullets. The labor
mayor of Minneapolis was threatened with impeachment.
Speakers of the league were stoned and abused. Any pro-,
gressive who raised his voice for a decent cause-whether
concerned with the war or not-was harassed, framed, even
Jailed.
Thus men like James Manahan and Charles A. Lindbergh
emerged from the war years with broken health and haunted
minds, results of their suffering at the hands of the so-called
public safety commission. Any man, any group which de-
nounced the money-mad war profiteers and their political
parties met with immediate punishment-all in the name of
patriotism. Public decency took a vacation. -
The members of that infamous committee-were: Charles H.
March, C. W. Ames, John Lind, John F. McGee, and A. C.
Weiss. But olh honest John Lind found the committee so
bad that he finally resigned in utter disgust.
rRoCr.ESSICES BROE BUT NOT CRIISHID
The war, like a great boulder; had broken the wave of the
mild Progressive era. Beneath this foaming wave there now
was seen a determined flood of militancy. The forces of
finance capital expected by the war to destroy the people's
movement.
The people, on the other hand, saw a chance to strike back
with the same weapon. It was they whose hands produced
the weapons of this war and they determined to make their
power felt.
What was going on in Minnesota between these two con-
tenders repeated Itself everywhere in America. The people
were deI whined to ccme into their own, politically and
economically.
ETACE SET FOR PARSIER-LABOR PARTS
The cru= h-rg reign of war hysteria and conservatism formed
the i:r z _ ci:s:e background for the birth of the Farmer-Labor
Par 7.
Tl:e f^^ ers, the workers, the peace and neutrality advo-
cates. the progressives had no place to go. Their training
trryssh trot' years of the Progressive period had been to act -William Mahoney, chairman; J. A. Watkins, Fred Kreuger,
indh;y-ndcntly. speaking generally, as voters. They were tied
to no poi '-teal party. With the approach of the elections of,, Gassing, representing all parts of the State. Some of these
1918 it w-as s=ear that Minnesota was ripe for a political
revolu don.
The tactics of the Non-Partisan League in other States
had been to Capture the primaries of the leading party and
thus put their own candidates upon the ballot under the very
noses off then opponents.
The primary of 1918 in Minnesota was preceded by a great
State conventinne of league farmers, held in St. Paul, March
18 and 19 . From the fast the tie between farmer and worker
was evident- J nes Clsnccy, president of the St. Paul Ameri-
ti
N
AUGUST 15
can Federation of Labor, union's : central body, was the
fPAhrrrri Fncnkpr - 11 .1
I.fl DBERCH HEADS S'rASE AJT7[
The slate of candidates offered in the Republican primaries
by-the farmers was headed by Charles A- Lindbergh for Gov- '
emor. The rest of the ticket, as agreed upon finally, was:
H. K Crane, a farmer, for Lieutenant Governor; Thomas-V.-
Sullivan, a Progressive lawyer, for attorney general; S. O.
Tjosvold, a farmer, for auditor; Albert H. Fasel, a Progressive.',
for State treasurer, Fred K T511quist,-• a railroad labor leader.
for 'railroad and warehouse commissioner,- and Herman
Mueller, a Progr,----_
i
essi _ -
f vor
e supreme court clerkttuelier;ZVas--
elected and served 4 years. - -
Lindbergh received 150,626 votes; his opponent, J. A A.
Burnquist, 199,325. Many reactionary Democrats threw their
weight behind Burnquist in order to stop the farmers. But
it can be seen that the league had become a power. At the
time of the election, there were 42,000 Leaguers in the State.
In the teeth of the war mania it had grown to 4 times its
size of the year before. It further attracted many thousands
to vote for its candidates.
LABOR BECOME
- , POLMCCLLZ AGAVE - - - -
But with the defeat of Lindbergh and nearly the whole,
slate, what was to be done now? While the farmers debated
their next move, labor took a ,very significant step forward.
For the first time since the days of the Knights of Labor, or-
ganized labor deliberately stepped upon the political stage.
Labor had watched the farmers organize with great interest,
It was well known that the farmers' administration in North
Dakota had shown its true people's character by passing every
law that labor requested, putting that State far ahead of the
others in the matter of pro-labor legislation. Organized labor
was stronger in Minnesota than it had ever been before.
LABOR STRENC PH AT Pr _&X
Not including the unions represented in the mining, lake
shipping, and timber cutting industries, the workers had at
this time 497 unions located in 52 towns and cities of the
State.' In the American Federation of Labor and the railroad
brotherhoods alone there were 52,000 workers. With the mili-
tant and the unorganized workers who were union-minded,
this was a formidable force to throw into the political scales
But it must be granted -that the terrible campaign of the -
reactionaries had cowed and silenced many of the workers.
At the 1918 convention of the American Federation of Labor
Minnesota unions, two progressive labor figures crystallized
the workers' political sentiments into a plan which would put
the unions directly behind their own candidates. It was a
startling departure from the-traditional nonpartisan attitude
of this important labor group.
These two men were William Mahoney and Charles Isaac-
son, both of the St. Paul Printing Pressmen's Union. They
asked for an- all-labor conference to put candidates in the
field for State office. The suggestion was enthusiastically
received by a majority of the delegates, and on August 25 of
that year ( 1918 ) President Ed G. Hall and Secretary George
W. Lawson, of the State federation of labor, convened the
parley. Ninety local unions sent delegates.
WORKER AND FARM=COMMITTEES MEET
A committee of seven labor men was named to meet with
a like committee of the Farmers' League to select candidates
for the November elections. On this labor committee were:
J. J. Robbers, J. L. Tinkham, Clark Greenless, and Henry
men were important officers of the State federation of labor.
Out of their committee conferences gred the endorsement
by labor of three men for State office: The late David H.
Evans, of Tracy, for Governor; Tom Davis, of Minneapolis,
for attorney general; and the late Fred E. TT1lquist, of St.
Paul, for railroad and warehouse commissioner. Dave Evans -
was a hardware merchant and had been a liberal Democrat.
Davis was a veteran labor lawyer. •T llquist was a prominent
railroad labor official, a member of the Locomotive Firemen
and Enginemen Brotherhood.
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U.S. Code)

194x__:_ .,..•.____CO-NTGRF.QNALEC08D-IATE_ I5911__ ___._

The-T ors' committee which helped work out this slate,-. pie's Party-had met the forces of entrenched wealth head-on-
included: Magnus Johnson, Anthony C. Welch,•Sarl Knutson, and had been smashed; out of represasions of the war years;
o. ), Teuye, a E. Crane, and - Arne- Grundysen. Although from the desires of the common people'for peace, neutrality,
the farmers at first favored Johnson for. Governor, they and progress, economic and political.-freedom`. The name
willingly accepted Evans as a good choice "Farmer-Labor,- which was placed on the ballot In that elec..
a : . PEO JZ3 SaNAE GROUPS secs xova lion was destined to appear on the ballots of every
. Minnesota °
There was a third group behind the efforts of the farmers' _ election thereafter. It meant that a new party- had. arisen
and workers-to - form their own independent ticket in 1918 : on, the political horizon of America to bring -hope in the,
professional men. These men 'had been active -fn the cam • . learts of the oppressed and the underprivileged as well -as al1 .
;;rte
pans of the progressives-of the preceding years=and in the who believe in social and economic -justue
main had been _opposed to 'the--World War and `had" been.` ='- The end of the war found the -people all'oyes the .world
marked for punishment by the Minnesota public safety mobs arising in revolt against former masters -
because of it. These liberals were not organized except in In the United States the tide of insurgent feeling ran high. _
such groups as the Saturday Lunch Club, of Minneapolis In many States and cities labor followed the lead which Min-
a forum where just such ideas as independent policies had nesota workers had provided. Parmer-labor and labor parties
long been centers of discussion. sprung up in many places
A committee ' of the professional men approached the The farmers' Non-Partisan League continued to grow,
farmers and workers with an urgent plea for a new party reaching out into new States until from Texas to Washington
which would represent peace, progress, and security. This the sound of the organizer's model T could be heard along the
group, because of its long training in politics under George country roads., Minnesota's league added more members and
Loftus and the other progressive Republicans, was of real use proved it couldgrow ;, -
to the people's representatives, most of whom were untrained ' unhRPPiLF
But the reactionaries didby
not sitand silo noth-
in the tactics of electioneering. These men were the most ing. Now that labor was no longer needed to help steer the
prominent of the professionals : Attorneys Fred A. Pike, Vince war machine, the national administration turned upon it
A. Day, Roy C. Smelker, Thomas L. Fraser, S. A- Stockwell, savagely. Liberal and .radical organizations were " made to
Julius J. Better, then mayor of Rochester ; Drs. William E. feel the sting of the-Federal Government 's wrath. .Various
Leonard and Henrik Shipstead • and others such as Carl Iewls, ' departments of that a ministration once thought as liberal -
Benjamin Drake, Prof. William A. Schaper, and George SiegeL became the open .aids of financial forces in order to crush the
reaMta-ANn LABOR ncsEr Pos^m advancing people 's movement.
The decision was that there should be an independent RE"GTDONAans MARE NEW DRIVE -LABOR. EFPZET'q TO EN t1
ticket in the final elections of 1918 . What to call the new . Organized labor had demonstrated what it could do in the -
ticket? The candidates had to run under some name. The political field in Minnesota , and now hastened to consolidate
progressives' candidates led by Lindbergh in the spring had its gains. At the State Federation of Labor convention of
commonly been called the farmer and labor or simply the 1919 a p ermanent organization through which the labor
farmer labor candidates. There was the name for the inde - unions would express themselves politically was ratified This
pendent ticket. And so , at a final meeting of the conferees was called the Working People's Non-Partisan Political
at the old Merchant Hotel in St. Paul, it was decided to run League-
Evans. Davis, and Tillquist under , the Farmer -Labor banner. To this new organization could belong not only individuals
Of course , it was not the intention of everyone to form a' but also entire unions and central bodies . It became the
permanent new party-not then. Many of the farmers were counterpart of the farmers ' league . The two worked side by
not convinced that a new party would win their demands for. side .- The Labor League 's first executive board included Wil-.
them quicker than their nonpartisan political tactics hith - Liam Mahoney , chairman ; Thomas Van Lear, - secretary; and
erto pursued. The labor officials were somewhat bound to C. Z . Nelson; Louis Frank ; J. A. Watkins ; A. E. Smith; and
the old nonpartisan principles of "elect your friends, defeat E. G. Whitney . All of them were from the Twin Cities.. -
your enemies." The professional men, however , saw clearly ' During 1919 and the early part of 1920 the two leagues -
that a return to the old parties would be an admission of worked unceasingly to perfect their organizations and prepare
defeat. And there also were many in both the farmer and the farmers and toilers for the contest of 1920.
the worker camps who had faith in a new party. The approach of this campaign found the progressives still
EENTIKLNT ON PERMANENT PAarr DIVIDED of divided mind concerning a farmer-labor party. Some-
A victory in the 1918 fall campaign would unquestionably such as Henry G. Teigan and William Mahoney-desired to
have settled the matter in favor of those who wanted anew see the two leagues merge into a strong , democratic,' ass
political party. But the Farmer-Labor candidates were not party. Townley and several of the Non-Partisan League lead-
victorious. Evans polled about 112,000 votes-Lindbergh had ers opposed this and urged, instead, that the farmers and
received 150.000-in the primaries. It looked as though workers remain nonpartisan so that they could exercise "a
many pccple were in favor of progressives in office but could balance of power" between the two conservative parties.
not shake themselves free of their old party ties to help them. 1920 n. ECno c-Ae& i TET TO CArrcaE G. 0. P.
But it w as realized that the campaign had not been a test Thus is was that the leading candidates in 1920 did not file
of third-party sentiment among the voters, since it was as Farmer-Labor. Instead they' ried against to capture the
fought in the face of fresh waves of terrorism on the part of Republican primary, and again without success. The fear of
the State administration. The Republican machine, en- the candidates was that they could'not draw supporters away
hanced by the pcwers given it at the outbreak of the war, from the Republican Party, and the election laws of the time
held the State in the grip of a tyrant, refusing or permitting prevented voters from crossing party lines to select whom
any opposition at will. The league had scheduled 250 meet- they pleased. At the same time the Farmer-Labor Party was
ings to discuss election problems but was forced by hoodlums kept on the ballot by the filing of a number of candidates
and other lawless forces at the beck and call of the notorious under that banner.
Public Safety Commission and its governor, J. A. A. Burnquist, The leading candidates in 1920 were Hzsarg SznpsrEAD for
to cancel nearly a third of them. It was not safe in those days Governor , George Mallon for Lieutenant Governor, and
to engage in politics on a people's ticket. Imaginary flu co- Thomas V_ Sullivan for Attorney General Smpsrtn, who
demics were used to cancel the meetings of Congressman later was to become United Stales Senator, was a professional
Exrcrsr LvxDirn in both Dawson and Madison, Mina- This man and a former progressive Republican candidate for Con-
occurred under the direction of Theodore Christianson, the gress in 1918 In the Seventh District. He had served one
State administrator, and his political associates .' .. • term in the Minnesota Legislature during the t»ar In 1917.' '
ssss or nss cci-Ex ra or zsr saesrs -I * Peers ; Mallon, who was politically active among the vess
Nevertheless, it was in this fall campaign that the Minne- was a veteran of the World War; had received the Congres
sota Farmer -Labor Party was born, 20 years after the Poo- zlonal Medal of Honor, and was the only Minnesotan on Geo-
 Notice: This material may t^, protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)
15912 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE AUGUST 15
eraf Per.*ing' s list of One Hundred Heroes -of the -World war.-.q -was up-for-.reelection,--_and-against him..-the Fier-
Sullivi,'an ardent liberal and excellent platform man, was a
popular St. Paul attorney , a law partner of James Manahan.:',; ful farmer, Magnus Johnson, was selected.'.;.: Othercandidates
Ep came within a mere handful of votes of capturing
th publican nomination. = W ari :, "_"
Filing on the Farmer-Labor ticket and unopposed in the auditor; .Frank H. Keyes for treasurer Roy-C., -.Smelker for _
primaries were Cyrus Ki ng for Governor, fitly Anderson for
secretary of state,-John P. Wagner for treasurer,-and Emil
C. 2 acKebzie for-railroad and warehouse -commissioner.
Y > %'R PARIR marS ALIVE
Aft the primaries King withdrew in behalf of SHn STEAD
wllo r ith Mallon and Sullivan ;: then filed by petition for the
same offices they sought in the Republican primary, but this
time as independents with Farmer-Labor endorsement.
These rather clumsy arrangements were the best that could
be done while-the Progressives were still undecided whether
or not to keep the Farmer-Labor Party alive. The votes for
regular Farmer-Labor candidates who made. no campaign
whatever ran close to 200,000 and convinced many that the
new party was here to stay.
The final elections also revealed greatly increased strength.
SI esvEAD received 281,000 votes to his Republican-machine,
opponent's 415 ,000. But the Smx;svzin vote was more than
twice Evans' vote of 2 years before. - As the Working People's
League secretary, Van IP_ af declared: -
The opposition claim we lost. , I 'disagree "with them because we
did not have anything to lose . The tact is we made substantial
SAVE THE STATE FROM SOCIALISM
The false slogan of the Republicans in the 1920 campaign
was "Save the State from socialism": This slogan was sup-
posed to be potent because of the current "red-scares; being
conducted all over. America in order to discredit the labor
and progressive movements. In Minnesota the Sound Gov-
ernment Association was .formed, and through this fake outfit
the big open-shop industrialists and the bankers poured hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars in order to defeat the Farmer-
Labor forces. The State was plastered with huge billboards
screaming confusing and-misleading slogans. An expensive
publication called Minnesota Issues covered the. State like a
blanket of snow in a desperate attempt to smear the popular
It was in the face of this that the Progressives made their
astonishing gains in voter strength.
WALL STUM ORDERS DEFLATION
Between the campaigns of 1920 and 1922 the farmers' de-
pression set in-and it has lasted to this very day. Those who
labored on the land from sunrise until sunset were the first
to be ground down by the heartless deflation ordered by our
captains of industry. The farmer was crushed under a
heavy debt load incurred during a period of inflation-a
debt load which is impossible for him to pay off even during
periods of relative normalcy.
Suddenly there was an organized contraction of bank
credits, prices began to tumble, the great war boom collapsed.
This situation helped the Progressives. It gave the people
one more great incentive to fight.
MOVE FOR INDEPENDENT POLrI2CAL ACTION
Also between the campaigns of 1920 and 1922 the Farmers
Non-Partisan League underwent- important changes. Its
founder. Townley, stepped out. Thus was removed one of
the most influential opponents of independent political action
of farmers and workers. • The way rapidly cleared to get
behind the Farmer-Labor Party and make it the winner.
From the first, the workers and farmers displaced the
Democratic Party as the leading opposition. Now the farm
depression, the continued attacks upon workers' wages, and
the general distrust in which the people held the corrupt
Republican Party gave the new party reasons to think in
terms of victory.
FUZ COMFLLTE SLATE 07 CANDD)ATES
The liberals filed a complete slate of candidates in the
1922 election under Its own banner. It was the final warning
that the Farmer-Labor people were In the field to stay, and
to be reckoned with. United States Senator Frank B. Kellogg
Labor---Party Pitted Hsxaix SrrrPsTxAn . For Governor that color
were: Arthur A. Siegler -for Lieutenant Governor; Susie -W
Stageberg for secretary-of state; Elizabeth :Deming fora
attorney general; W. W. Royster for railroad and warehouse
commissioner; and Howard Van Lear for supreme court clerk_
,^ -In addition-` several congressional candidates had filed i
the State's 10 districts with party endorsement
The Farmer-Labor Party in that campaign advocated work
relief for the unemployed; an increased - iron. ore , tonnage'
tai; a-Sta'te-owned-and 'operated'cement-plant- and
creased capacity for the State flour mill which had been in
operation for a year. -This mill is now in danger of being
dismantled under the present Republican regime. Opposi-
tion to the use of the injunction in labor disputes and to a
State constabulary were other demands made by the Farmer-
Labor Party. It is interesting to note that much of this
program has subsequently been-enacted into law.- -
LEAGUES WORE AS PEBFE:.T TEAM
In this crucial campaign of 1922 the two leagues worked
harder and more harmoniously than ever before. Their .
members sensed that victory was at hand and they set forth.
every ounce of effort and energy they possessed. The rail-
road brotherhoods continued their splendid support, sending
Into the State several fine speakers, and providing to-a gen-
erous degree that rarest of all commodities of progressive
.politics-hard cash! "Fighting Bob" TA Follette ' aided the
campaigners with several speeches before tremendous *crowds
in the Twin Cities and several southern citi
When election day arrived it was apparent that Dr. Ssrp-
sTEAn had defeated Frank B. Kellogg for 'United States Sen-
ator; while Magnus Johnson's exciting campaign made it
appear that he, too, would win. Final results showed that
SmPSrs.n had become America's first Farmer-Labor Sen-
ator, by 80 ,000 plurality. Johnson came within 15,000 votes
of becoming Governor. In addition, Farmer-Labor Knud
Wefaid and O. J. Kvale went to Congress. -
^^ <..:. TRULY, THE FAHL4B -LABOR PARTY HAD ARRIVED ,_ - --
Nor-was this all.-, The election struggles had resulted in
victories in many legislative districts . In 1920 , for. example,
the Farmer-Labor Party could claim successes in 46 districts.
It must be remembered that the Minnesota Legislature is
elected on a non -partisan basis. In 1922 the influence In
the legislature of Farmer-Labor people increased even more.
MAGNUS JOHNSON GOES TO SENATE - - -
A surprise victory was still in store for the new party. A
few months after the elections, word came that Minnesota's
elder Republican statesman, Senator Knute Nelson, had died.
It was announced that a special election would be held to fill
out the nearly 2 years' balance of his term.
The Farmer-Labor people had found Magnus Johnson an
excellent campaigner and he proved to be the favored candi-
date in the Farmer-Labor primary held in June 1923. His
opponent was the same machine Republican who bad squeezed
• past him to win the governorship only a few months before.
But this time the farmers and workers were ready for him.
They knew their strength and they knew that the people
were behind their program.
Magnus ran on the slogan, "Is a farmer good enough for the
'United States Senate?"
His Republican rivals foolishly countered this with "Send
Magnus back to the pasture." It proved to be as foolish as
it sounded. It was resented by the city workers as well as
the farmers. The campaign was short and sweet. When It
was over, Magnus had won by almost 100,000 votes.
Minnesota thus sent a second Farmer-Labor man to the
United States Senate. The Republican wailing wall was now
well established.
- It was in a spirit of triumph and confidence that the toilers -
looked toward 1924. Meanwhile the agitation had gone on
for clarification of the status of the Farmers' League, the
Labor League, and the Farmer-Labor Party itself. A series ;
- - of conferences were nela tnraugnout cue winter am spring -
 Notice: i'his material may t' protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)
194b, °; - - CONGRESSIONAL-RECORD--SENATE-
of 1923-24 'looking toward the formation of -a new. organiza-
tion hick 'would combine the two leagues and carry. -on
the ci vities of the Farmer-labor Party between elections.
Many new adherents came when Robert hL Ia Follette, .8r..
in 1923 answered that he was through with the old parties
and would enter a new alinement with the forces of progress
Nation-wide.-..
_TNTER PAL O -LABOR CLV
In Snarly parts of the in the. Twin Cities
and! the Brainerd area--there had developed; s' new type of
political organization. It was called the Farmer-Labor-Club.
Unlike the clubs familiar to eastern city politics, the members
of -these groups paid fiegular.dues, carried on -their own edu-
cational campaigns for progressive principles, and in the case
of the Sixth- Congressional District even maintained their
own newspaper, the Farmer-Labor Record. -
The club rooted the new Farmer-Labor Party in the locali-
ties as even the leagues could not do. It was smaller than
the leagues' units, and hence more mobile and more sensitive
to local needs. To some of the Progressives it appeared to
be the answer to -the problem of how best to conduct the
work of education, organization, and political, effort.
LEAGUES MEBGE INTO FEDESATTON
In March of 1924 the two leagues met in Minneapolis at
the same time and In nearby halls. There were 150 farmer
delegates from 42 counties. On the labor side were repre-
sentatives of no less than 100,000'workers from every section
of the State. These people had already founded their own
daily newspaper, of which they were very proud, the Minne-
sota Daily Star.
There remained a strong sentiment among the league farm-
ers to keep intact their old organization, which, however, was
suffering depletion in the ranks. But a majority of the
farmers preferred entering the proposed Farmer-Labor Fed-
eration. When word came that the workers' convention had
dissolved their league in favor of the new federation, the
farmers began to debate. It was an exciting moment in
Farmer-Labor history. -
POLITICAL HISTORY MADE
Delegate Carl R. Carlgren, who had been on the labor com-
mittee visiting the farmers' convention, returned to the
workers' hall finally with word of the results. As the Farmer-
Labor Advocate reported It-
For a moment there was a pause and silence. Then a great shout
went up: delegates sprang to their feet; some climbed on chairs
and tables; bats were thrown In the air; and labor men began to
shout, "Hurrah for the farmers 1"
Beres of men grasped the hands of delegates to whom they had
never spoken before and congratulated them. All were eager to
learn whether the leaguers were coming over. Yes; they were
coming. Soon they began to appear by dozens, by half dozens, by
scores: and as they shouldered their way to their seats, the Federa-
tio nis`s arose shouting their welcome, extending their hands and
vacating seats for the farmers' comfort, while the hubbub was
punctuated every few minutes by fresh outbursts as new groups
appeared at the crowded doorways and sought their places in the
council chamber with the workers.
rARYLR - LASOL FEDERATION EORN
Thus was born the Farmer-Labor Federation. Its first
officers were William Mahoney, chairman, representing labor;
Ralph Harmon, secretary, representing the farmers. The
first executive board included the following district repre-
sentatives: First, J. C. Placek and Walter J. Kennedy; second,
John J. Johnson and W. C. Sprague; third, Fred E. Osborne
and A. C. Welch; fourth, Frank Fisher and Frank Starkey;
fifth, Robley D. Cramer and J. O. Johnson; sixth, A- H. Hen-
dricks-on and P. W. Anderson; seventh, Harold Baker and
Hemming Nelson; eighth, George H. Webster and H. W. Dart;
ninth, Louis Enstrom and J. C. Pratt; tenth, C. R. Hedltrrid
and Gus Lundberg. Joseph Baldus later replaced Mr. Welch.
This central body of authority was composed entirely, of dirt
farmers, workers who had left lathes or scaffolds to attend
the convention, and progressive 'business and professional
oN meagre AI7oz r s rao=AaC A rxE r F=xdz- w=vz T ncxssmccr=
The ^day following the.,s`e-stirring events there was a
convention of r armer- Lobo adherents In St Cloud to adopt
a program and select candidates for the coming campaign.=
The program demanded start of the,St. Lawrence Waterway,
Public ownership of all public utilities and natural resources,
guaranty of labor's right to organize, adequate soldiers' bonus,
cooperative banks, and the McNary-Haugenpla.n of aid to
farmers. How much of this is now accepted law others may
. Because of the rapid change to the new basis of the Firmer-
Labor Federation, and for the sake of preserving harmony„it
was decided to make no endorsements for-office but to, allow
the primary vote to decide the slate. Whethee that choice
was a' wise one or whether injury was done to the party re-
mains a question to this day . Some of the candidates turned
their attacks away from the common enemy and directed
their fire on their primary rivals. The future must determine
that question.
However, from the tangle of primary candidates and the,
heated primary campaign, there did emerge a man not only
eminently fitted to hold high public office but also with the
necessary qualities to become the leader of this new party.
He was a talented young man, tall and graceful, with a
winning smile and a persuasive voice; a man who did not
hesitate to take his-position on the side of the people, whose
principles had been forged on the anvil of hard labor in the
mine, railroad yard, and harvest field, and whose honesty-
and courage already had been amply demonstrated in public
office. -
This man was Floyd B. -Olson, the son of Norwegian and
Swedish immigrants. He was then county attorney of the
State's largest county, Hennepin, and already was recognized'
as one of the foremost men holding office -in Minnesota. As
a prosecutor, he showed that he was primarily interested in
the dispensation of elementary justice. He filed as candidate
for Governor on the Farmer-Labor ticket and ws the nomi-
nation in a spirited campaign. - -
Up for relection in 1924 was Senator Magnus Johnson. His
progressive record in Washington seemed to assure him a
return to office. The entire-slate of candidates which emerged
from the primary prepared for victory in the fall, despite the
confusion -and ill feeling which had been features of the
elimination contests.
NATIONAL AND STATE CAMPAIGNS NOT COORDINATED
However, another element entered the situation This was
the candidacy on the national scene of the fighting Progres-
sives, Senators LA Fou.Errs and WHEELER.- To the detriment
of all, the national campaign and the campaigns of the
Farmer-Labor candidates did not mesh until very late in the
year. Had there been a planned campaign of the national
and State Progressives from the start, the ultimate results
in all likelihood would have been different.
All the time the reactionaries continued their attacks upon
the liberals. Workers and businessmen were threatened with
dire consequences if they did not return Coolidge to the White
House. Hard times, panic, riots, bread lines--these terrible
things would be the result of taking Lam, POLL= and WHEELER
and the Farmer-Labor people seriously. A subtle change was
coming over large sections of the American people by 1924;
the people were being lulled to sleep by a false prosperity.
THL G . O. F. PROSPEsITI CA.IPAIGN
The Republican newspapers thoroughly dinned into the
public ear that good times had arrived forever. They need
do nothing but vote Republican to keep the beautiful picture
of boundless prosperity hanging on the parlor wall.
Because the masses lacked a voice to match this blare of
publicity, it was difficult to make It known that the farmers
still had to labor from sunup to sundown merely to keep the
sheriff from seizing their stock and tools; that in many in-
dustries wages were slowly declining while hours were going
up; that machines were being introduced at a very rapid rate--
machines which were throwing workingmen permanently out
of their foils; that women workers were still getting less for
the same work that men did ; that prosperity was an actuality"`- -..
mainly for those with sufficient funds to play, the stock mar-
15914 Notice: This mat I rotected
GR S ONAL RECORD- SINATE
ket"-for.thosePu-ho.co.dbuy
/^ TT stocksandliond&.9f.J QR ealth^^
monop bbes.
FAB^ CAMPAIGN SITCCEEDS
ese were disagreeable facts; the fine picture of good times . elected by a smas hing majority.` ;the slate o11928 was: =
..osier to'take. The militancy .of the war years,-the cra- Eiimsx Lmrnmi,, for Governor ;... omas J. - Meighen, for
sading spirit of the progressive era, were being sapped away. Lieutenant Governor ; Mrs- Susie "W -Stageberg, for.se^retary
Until' the house of cards :would fall the' Progressives could
do " `:tittle but - walt-for the - majority 'sentiment .to ' net n to stroom,-for attorney general; and J.I,. Peterson, for railroad
their side. The1. 1924 election, which the.farmer `and workers
were- convinced they would wln,ended in heartbreaking
'rue, the Farmer-Laborcandidates ran ahead of the Na-
tional Independent Progressive ticket" `T `ght:ng -Bob" lost
Minnesota by 80 ,000. Olson lost the governorship by 40,000.
Worst of all, Magnus Johnson was defeated for reelection,
but only by 8,000 votes in a total vote which approached a
million.
THE camrr SIDE OF THE LEDGER .,. -
On the credit side the western farmers returned Congress-
men Wefald and Kvale to Washington, and a third Farmer-
Laborite, William L. Carss, of Duluth, was also sent to
Congress.
An outcome of the disastrous 1924 contest was revamp-
ing of the Farmer-Labor Federation. New -conferences ini-
tiated in 1925 by the present Farmer-Labor Congressman,
.ICHARn T. BucEI.Ea, resulted in the federation adopting a
new constitution and a new name.
The constitution forbade membership 1 to revolutionists: tion, debt -relief- and cost of production for the farmers , -old-'
The new name was the Farmer-Labor Association. This is
the organizational structure which has housed the Farmer-
Labor Party to this day.
STRUCTURE OF F,EMER-LABOR ASSOCIATION .. .
A word about the association- It would be hard to find
its counterpart in American political history. It is com-
posed of hundreds of ward and township clubs, some of which
have 400 and Iiiore active members. It also consists of trade
unions, cooperatives, and farmers ' economic organizations.
Until recently it likewise included cultural and language so-
cieties and the units of unemployed organizations.
The members of the association pay dues and support a
newspaper, the Minnesota Leader, probably the most influ-
ential weekly in the State. Their club meetings are enlivened
by debates on the issues of -the day and on party policy. Once
a year, conventions are held at which officers are chosen. In
addition, there is a central committee of 18 chosen by mem-
bers themselves at district conventions.
CONVZZMONS-MEcnNGS OF RANG AND FILE
The 1926 and 1928 conventions of the association were
actually then meetings of the delegate representatives of the
party rank and file. At these conventions full slates of can-
didates were endorsed for the primaries.
In 1926 this slate was Magnus Johnson, a farmer, for
Governor; Emil Holmes, a professional man, for Lieutenant
Governor; Charles Olson, a Progressive, for secretary of
state; S. O. Tjosvold, a farmer, for auditor; Thomas J.
Meighen, a small-town banker, for treasurer; Frank E.
McAllister, a lawyer, for attorney general; Thomas Vollom, a
farmer, for railroad and warehouse commissioner; and Mrs.
Minnie Cederhoim, a rural housewife, for supreme court
clerk.
JOHNSON LE l$ HIS TICKET
Johnson received the best support in the finals , winning
266.000 votes to his Republican opponent 's .395,000. Re-
elected were Congressmen Cara .and Kvale , but Congress-
man Wef ald was nosed out by a few votes . The program
remained much the same as that of 1924.
The situation in 1928 remained unchanged . The Repub-
licans made much of the so-called golden prosperity with
which they had blessed the country. Only the Progressives
seemed We to discern that this good-time platform wag
like a rotten plank over a deep pit of collapse . The Re-
publican candidate for President, Herbert Hoover, felt con-
fident enough of the future to offer Americans two can in
every garage, a chicken in every pot -or was it two chickens?
That giddy era of stock-market
s timillionaires is largely for-,
^n
gotten now.
b y copyri nt law (Title
STEAD EE^ TO SMA=
ti Despite the din of sell-Praise in the Republican press,
nesota's Farmer-Labor Senator "THENRIK
,, S=s-,E" was re-
of' state; Peter J. Seberger, I ortreasurer;-=C -F.- G-aaren=-
and warehouse commission =Only Congressman Kyale, in
the southwestern fa'rmdistrict.was returned to Congress with-
Senator Sz^STEAD. LINDE v ran-ahead of t1ie-Btate ticket
to poll 227,000 votes^'agaanst-the Republican rival's 54.9,060'-*,
=an sums FOR
These were the years of `modest, poverty-stricken cam-'
paigns for. the Farmer-Labor candidates. While the Repub-
licans continued to collect huge sums for campaign purposes,
and to have as well an obedient State machine , the pro-
gressives conducted their campaigns with the _ nickels - and
dimes of the working people. It is cause for high praise
that the party held its ranks.. -
Throughout the 20's the Farmer-Labor Party was the
chief opposition party in a Minnesota saddled with a do-
nothing Republican Party. The progressives' campaigns were
primarily educational in order to acquaint the people with
the facts. In these campaigns the program which the New
Deal later promised won power and was firmly laid . Social
security, work for the unemployed, labor protective- legisla
age pensions, Government power and transportation projects,
tax adjustment=these attainments and objectives which are
common coin today were long ago given full discussion in the
clubs and circles of the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota.
The best traditions of the early grangers-the People's
Party, the Progressives, the labor parties-the militants of
the war years, -were handed down without a break to the
present day.
FARIEM -LABOR PARTY ANSWERS U :..SAS. DEMAND
Some of our national historians, born and bred in theSEast,
have failed to discover in 'the Minne_sot$, farmer-labor move-
ment the wider lessons with which it is'studded. To many
of them it was, and still seems to be, a matter of-local moment,
a passing fancy of the American political scene. ' ^ -
Nothing could be further from the truth. What-the Min-
nesota farmers and wage workers and independent business
and professional groups desire, through independent political
action, is exactly the same as these groups everywhere in
America desire. The Farmer-Labor Party stands for more
than local discontent. It voices the demands of these great
groups of our citizens to keep America free and restore
economic opportunity for all. This is a universal demand.
During the glittering years of the stock-market prosperity
the Farmer-1 abor Party-remained the symbol of the largely
unfulfilled needs of the common man for a better, fuller, freer
life. We were determined that our party should live, because
it had, and still has, a destiny to meet.
ORGANIZATIONS AND ORGAN= S
And yet, while It is true that this conviction burned like a
live coal, it must be recognized that by itself it would not have
kept the party alive. What accomplished this during • the
period of so-called good times (which was.-really the hidden
depression of the farmers) was the hard and unselfish work
of a few men and women. Henry G. Teigan, for example,
continued the work of publicizing the program and aims of
the party through the columns of the Farmer-Labor Advocate
and the Minnesota Union Advocate. The latter paper, under
the able editorship of Bill Mahoney, became the leading organ
of the movement. - -
Other editors also carried on the educational campaign
which has made the Farmer-Labor Party so much more than
a mere party. These included the labor editors, R. D. Cramer,
of Minneapolis; the late William Billy) McEwen, of Duluth;
and Oscar Widstrand, of the Ribbing independent; the rural
editors, Fay Cravens, of Milaca ; Edward Barsness, of Glen-
wood; Charles Coy, of Alexandria; Archie Whaley. of Moar '
head; farmer Congressman Francis. Shoemaker, then of Red
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1940 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE 15915
Wing, t;e^tainly the veteran publisher of the Willmar Daily
Tribune, Victor E. Lawson; and many others.
In dition were other leaders who had began in the ranks,
and'uPhbse strength remained there, such as Magnus John-
son, Kiiud' Wefald, O. J. Kvale, Louis Ostrom, Mrs. Susie
Stageberg. Mrs.'s. K. Moore, Frank Starkey, Fred'Ihllquist,
Lawience Arland, Judge -William A`Anderson, Otto Goetsch,
gnd Tom Vollum.. And there were dozens df ethers.- 'These
men and women should take pride that they steered the Party
through its times of trial `^ _ -
?G.'0. P. PASE Pam rEASE=_.-..._ ..-. _ , .
The Fanner-Labor Party, late in 1929, -observed with the'
rest of the country the spectacular collapse by which pros-
perity's house of cards came down. The bottom fell out of the
fake Republican prosperity. Republican rule was now ex-
posed for what it was---government of special privilege, by
special privilege, for special privilege. Progressives had often
predicted just such a disastrous result for the people, of the
frenzied finance of the Coolidge-Hoover period. But the ma-
jority of the Nation needed time to see that the end of an age
had come. By election day, 1930, the people of Minnesota
were already prepared to act -
PLOTD OLSON CO]CES TO THE FORE
There was one man in the State at that time about whom
most people thought first in considering the best man for
Governor. This was Floyd B. Olson . He had just concluded
a hard-hitting campaign against the racketeer elements in
Minneapolis, In his capacity as county attorney. He was
hailed throughout the State for his courage and ability.
The party convention was held in March. The executive
committee of the association at that time consisted of Frank
Starkey, Carl R. Carigren, Anthony C. Welch, Henry G.
Teigan, S. A. Stockwell, and, Thomas Meighen. It was ap-
parent from the first that Olson could have either the nomi-
nation for Governor-or United States Senator. He chose the
Governorship, and the party gladly gave }dim its endorsement.
On the ticket to make the campaign with him were Ernest
Lundeen. for United States Senator; Henry Arens, for Lieu-
tenant Governor; Judge J. B. Himsl, for attorney general;
Anna O. Determan, for secretary of State; William Mahoney,
for auditor; Thomas J. Jackson, for treasurer; and Elmer E.
Johnson, and Caries E. Berquist, for railroad and warehouse
commissioners.
FL.FX.Z'ED FIRST FAE -L.ADOB GOVERNOR
Olson made a hard- campaign, covering the State thor-
oughly before the election. He leveled a merciless barrage
against what he called the corrupt Republican hierarchy.
His Republican opponent had the use of an expensive sound
truck and trailer equipped with loudspeakers, but Olson
shunned fancy campaigning.
When he stepped upon a soap box or a wagon tail gate he
needed no microphones. He pledged himself to the party
program. which called for farm-mortgage relief, a State old-
age-pension system, chain-store taxation, and general tax re-
lief by taxation in accordance with ability to pay, and many
other progressive demands since enacted either by the State
or by the Federal Government. In this contest the Olson
brilliance as a speaker made itself manifest.
In the final elections Floyd Olson, champion of the under-
pri ileged. defeated both his Republican and Democratic op-
ponents by a plurality of nearly 200.000 votes. He became
the first Farmer-Labor Governor in American history-
marking the beginning of a new and bright era for the
Farmer-Labor Party and a new hope for all who labor by
brawn and brain. It was obvious to all that this great cru-
sading movement had found Its champion to proclaim its
message throughout the length and breadth of the land.
The Farmer-Labor Party. had truly arrived to become an
Increasingly vital political force in this State and Nation.
AEL\'S •'T W T1 1.LLLr AXT 00S829OS
Elected with Olson was Henry Arens, Lieutenant Governor.
Arens was a vice president of the State's largest cooperative,
a dirt farmer, and a fighter for both farmer and progressive
causes. Reelected also was Paul J. Kvale as party candidate
for Congress from a western prairie district. The Democratic
Party almost disappeared in-Minnesota and there developed
the rush of the liberals to the Farmer=Labor banner. The up-
surge of Progressives was evident in congressional elections all
over the country, which sent to Washington a Congress com-
posed of many Democrats in opposition to Hoover's do-
no'thing policies.
The rest of the State offices were filled in 1930-by conserva-
tive Republicans. Likewise, the two houses of the legislature,
while Nonpartisan, were very conservative. Olson's fight was
thus clearly outlined:"Sts enemies surrounded him. While
he would be made responsible for every act, he had little con-
trol over more than the affairs of the Governor's office itself.
He knew, however, how to call public opinion to his aid and
thus compel the reactionaries to support measures in the
public interest to which they were opposed. _
A SAGA OF PEOGRES4FE POLrrICA L mSTOz-
Floyd B. Olson w _ as' to be Minnesota's Governor for three
consecutive terms.- At no time during these three terms did
he have the supportof. a legislature sympathetic to the pro-
gram of the Farmer-Labor-Party. And yet the achievements
of his administration are one of the sagas of American pro-
gressive political history and offer us proof that the common
people can ultimately achieve social and economic emancipa-
tion through a political party of their own over which they
exercise control. The Farmer-Labor Party is a party of truly
democratic rank and file control
ACT= eEMEI,' 15 OF THE OZSON ADMIIGISTRATION ^;-..
A review of the achievements of the Olson administration,
which cannot be undertaken in full here, shows not only in-
estimable benefits accruing to the people of his-own State, but
the blazing of new trails extending far beyond the State's
borders. Minnesota's new deal clearly foreshadowed the New
Deal of a later day. His administration, for example, under-
took a public-works program to combat unemployment before
the New Deal came into power. He recommended unemploy-
ment-insurance compensation to the State legislature before -
the national administration proposed this advanced measure.
He undertook a youth program for Minnesota upon which the
National Youth Administration was later modeled. He fought
for the right of labor to organize and to bargain collectively,
helping greatly to pave the way for passage by the Federal
Government of the Wagner National Labor Relations Act and
other social legislation. ..
He interceded with the national administration In behalf of
the farmer and was largely responsible for the Federal Gov-
ernment's seed and feed loan policy and leniency in collec-
tion of farm debts. He obtained passage of the Mortgage
Moratorium Act, the first act of its kind passed in the country.
which saved thousands of city homes and farms from mort-
gage foreclosure, and which was followed by passage of simi-
lar legislation by other progressive States. This was one of
the most significant progressive achievements of recent years,
and Introduced into our body of law an altogether new con-
cept of property rights-namely, that the property rights of
those who own their homes and their farms is even more
sacred in times of economic crisis, over which the people have
no control and for the making of which they are not responsi-
ble, than are the property rights of the mortgage holders.
SL2:1Cx TO I.iaOa AN D rAaXM
It was no mere accident that the first time troops were
called out in this country during a labor dispute to protect
the civil rights of the strikers and the public, rather than to
browbeat and shoot the workers down, occurred during the
Farmer-Labor a inistration-the administration of Gover-
nor Olson. The Governor sought to preserve labor standards
and, during the clamor for wage reductions, he Insisted that
the State set the example as a model employer by payment of
living wages. He obtained passage of a law prohibiting issu-
ance of Injunctions in labor disputes. '
Floyd Olson caaled on the battle for the farmer, both
within the State of Minnesota and in the Nation's Capital.
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15916 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE
i
He talc -great headway toward revision of the tax system
in conformity with the Farmer-Labor principle of taxation -of die-hard Tories in the upper body , which attempted- to
andlin accordance with ability to gay by obtaining passage
of a'i-g> tduated -income-tax law;- a homestead tax which`
granted preferential tax treatment to modest city homes and
farms; a graduated chain-store tax which aided the small„ newspapers carried page after page of mortgage-foreclosure
independent . merchant; increased taxes upon wealth. _By ve
toes he defeated the efforts of the reactionaries to Impose-a`.' annual interest payment was $260. Worst of an, it now re-,
sales tax on the state.
MADE GREAT SOCIAL HrZn
in
In- ll fields of social endeavor, the admistration of Floyd the same interest charge had been met with only 116 bushels.
Olson made great forward strides. Educational standards of
the State were raised by State aid to school districts which
were unable to levy -sufficient tax money to support decent
schools; by opposing, in the face of violent opposition, cuts
in teachers' salaries; by strengthening laws relating to teach- Farmers were losing them as fast as the insurance companies
ers' tenure; and by a vigorous fight for academic freedom in
our schools and colleges. For the -aged he obtained passage
of the first State-wide old-age-pension law.
By displaying great resourcefulness, he forced a reactionary
legislature to pass adequate relief appropriations, threatening lamation declaring a moratorium on foreclosures. A legisla-
to declare martial law to feed the hungry if the legislators
failed to heed the people's demands. He brought to an end a
period of exploitation of the State's natural resources through
creation of a unified Department of Conservation, and formu-
lation of. a long-time, forward-looking program of conserva-
tion to assure that the natural resources would be developed
and utilized in the interest of all the people rather than for
the few_
This was a common people's government at work. It was
government which carried out the finest traditions of Amer-
ice-democracy at work.
1932 ELELTION ESTEA'Ds FARMER-LABOR GAINS
The March 1932 convention of the Farmer-Labor Associa-
tion met in an atmosphere of a tense national election which
had repercussions in Minnesota. Olson was, of course, en-
thusiastically indorsed for reelection. The Farmer-Labor
ticket included: K. K. Solberg for Lieutenant Governor;
Harry H. Peterson for attorney general; John T. Lyons for
secretary of state; A. H. Kleffman for treasurer; Saud Wefald
for railroad and warehouse commissioner.
During the campaign there came to the aid of the Farmer-
Labor ticket several out-of-State Progressives, including sen-
ators NY E and FRuzzxa of North Dakota and Senator IA For.-
Lx= of Wisconsin. As might be expected. Olson's campaign
was a bold and relentless attack upon toryism and economic
special privilege.
The returns in November revealed that a clear majority of
th• voters agreed with their Governor. His plurality was
188,000 in one of the most strenuous campaigns which the
State had witnessed to that time.
OTHr VICTORIOUS FAOUSS-LABOR CANDTA7=
This time the party had greatly improved its position.
Elected with Olson were K- K- Solberg, a farmer legislator,
Lieutenant Governor; Harry H. Peterson, now a member of
the State supreme court, attorney genera]; and Knud Wefald,
an independent businessman, railroad and warehouse com-
rn issioner.
Because of a veto by Governor Olson of a vicious gerry-
mander bill in 1931, the congressional elections of 1932 were
all at I age. In this contest the rapidly increasing strength
of the Parnmer-Lai or Party was seen. Of the 9 Congressmen
el'-cted. 5 were of the Farmer-Labor Party. These had won
through a primary contest involving 35 candidates. The vic-
tors were Magnus Johnson, Ernest Lundeen, Henry Arens,
Paul J. Kvale, and Francis Shoemaker. Johnson led the
entire delegation , receiving the highest number of votes. It
was the high-water mark for Farmer-Labor representation
in Congress.
Nor does this tell the whole story of the 1832 victory. When
the lower house of the State legislature came to vote for
speaker, it was seen that the Farmer-Labor choice, Charles
Munn, a farmer, was elected by a vote of 74 to 56 . However,
the senate seats had not been up for reelection, and thus the
AUGUST 15
Olson administration was again faced with the same handful
stay the wheel of progress
SSVEEE IIFSEXSSIoz HIIS YARSCFR-L R ALS ORRCA2nZELOWER HOIISE
It was a time of severe depression on the farm.'- Rural
notices. The average farm debt was $4,800.:; The average
`quired 740 bushels of wheat to pay this interest charge if the
farm was not to be wrested away from the farmer. ; In 1919
In-1925 it would have required ten 250-pound hogs to pay such-_
interest, but in 1933-with hogs at 3 cents a pound-it
required 33 hogs to do the same.
In Minnesota 60 percent of the farms were mortgaged.
and other mortgage holders foreclosed, in brutal efforts to get
their money back. City people, also were losing their homes
with the same rapidity.
Into this situation Olson boldly thrust his famous proc-
tive act was then in preparation by Attorney General Peter-
son. It was enacted into law. The tone of the Olson admin-
istrations was always one of progress through legislation.
The fact that liberals never controlled both houses of the
legislature prevented the passage of most liberal demands-
RE! CTIONARY ASSAULT BLATEN OFF MOSTGAGE MORATORIUM LAW PASSED
,As the 1934 election approached, the. conservatives laid
careful plans to wipe out Olson and all he and the Farmer-
Labor Party stood for. This time the Farmer-Labor conven-
tion brought forward a program pointing to the cooperative
movement as a superior form of economic structure. Olson
praised it as offering a constitutional means to win human
equality and security.
The candidates on the State ticket at this time included:
Henrik Shipstead for United States Senator; Hjalmar Peter-
sen for Lieutenant Governor; John T. Lyons for auditor;
Harry H. Peterson for attorney general; A. H. Kleffmarh,
treasurer; K. K. Solberg, secretary of state; Laura Naplin,
supreme court clerk; and Charles Munn for railroad and
warehouse commissioner.
The Republican dailies In the State, conducted a post-card
poll which, strangely enough, revealed that the Republican
candidate would defeat Olson. Olson later proved it to be
the laughing stock of the election. The conservative Demo-
crats also were determined to defeat the liberals. The clos-
ing days of the campaign found Emil Hurja, an employee of
the Democratic national chairman, denouncing Olson over a
Minnesota radio network.
Word soon came that the President had called this gentle-
man upon the carpet. for a severe dressing down because of
the attempt to make it appear that the national adminis-
tration desired the defeat of Olson.
These were merely examples of the savage campaign con-
ducted. Every conceivable form of hysterical propaganda,
every slander and scheme to frighten the voters, had been
tried.
FARMER - LABOR VICTORY IN 1934 CAMPAIGN
But when It came the voters' turn to speak, the Farmer-
Labor Party triumphed again. Every candidate on the ticket
was elected or made a strong showing. The party had been
unified as never before by the attacks upon it and it had
grown wonderfully in strength and force. People thought
more seriously than ever about the complex problems of
government and of economic security.
Elected with Governor Olson, were Hjalmar Petersen, Lieu-
tenant Governor, who, as chairman of the house tax commit-
tee, had steered the graduated income tax through the State
legislature; Harry H. Peterson, attorney general; Charles
Munn , railroad and warehouse commissioner. Munn joined
Wefald on the commission to win control of it for th e Parner-
Labor Party.
It is hard to understand how, with. this victory, the l_•gisla-
tare could be conservative in composition. Yet this is what s
 Notice: This material may tr protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)

1940 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE 15917

ocCUired. Perhaps the reason can be found in the non Mayo Clinic, from which he never left alive. He died August
partisan character of the legislature, enabling. conservatives 22, 1936, thus bringing an abrupt end to- a brilliant career
to seek-office as liberals. which was about to place him in the united States senate and
P Despite the fact that the depression had deepened, the con- herd out for him the strong possibility of election as the first
servative legislators decided that their chief work would be Farmer-Labor President of the United States.
an investigation of all Farmer-Labor departments. The re- EJAI. A PL-IErSKc s=ores GOVTXXOA
lief _situation had become so acute that Federal funds to the , The Lieutenant Governor, Hjalrnar Petersen, was sworn In
State had to be suspended.. In order .to support the Gov- as Governor and continued to serve in that ca until the
^ or'r,
following ^W appropriations a.Governor
demands for sufficientJanuary. mass Petersen .Pin his short
shortterm
erm ad-.
meeting . of farmers was held at the capital It demanded hexed to and
Principles Farmer-Labor the
s special session of t
#Eegislation that would meet the needs of. the common a legislature called by him passed an unemployment insurance ce
At this mass meeting a leading figure in the militant Farmers
act. Minnesota workers were thus assured of the benefits of
Union declared that Floyd Olson would be the next President the National Unemployment Insurance Act the first day the
of the United States. - With a great shout, the crowd showed law was put into operation. - -
It's approval OLSON SPIRIT STZaculsTts CAMPAIGN
ozzw egT--as as O_°PO2.-E lMs
The conservatives tried persistently to Put over a sales tax. The election campaign from that point had a different
as pec t . aTh
spuntofth1
e ost l ead er was as great a f ac t or to
Th e Governo r stood fi rm i n his o pp osition to it. "T will not
approve a tax upon poverty-upon bread and shoes" he in- reckon with as his personality had been. The progressives
sisted. Despite the attitude of the legislature, much of the deeply felt the need to keep faith with the man who had led
Governor's program was forced through them so well and with whom they had worked so long:.
-Chosen to take his place on the ticket by the unanimous
The struggle between the Governor and his opponents was action of the central committee was Congressman ERI.-rsr
far from ended, however. By winter, matters had become Lui DEEM of the Third Congressional District, then preparing
so acute that Olson called it special session: He asked for for reelection to Congress. To Ltrr DEiaes place on the ticket
passage of a bet ter ol d-age Pension I_; l bas e d upon pay me n ts fn,, rn„ -, - ^ mor f u.,,, r- ^;-.. - -
regulated by need ' increases in the income tax for more
school aid ; increases is the money and credits tax and upon - T-sI .ALS UN-= FOR VICTORY
wealth to pay the costs of social legislation; the unemploy- The campaign was again being conducted during a national
ment compensation financed by employees. The conserva- election. This time the national administration threw its
tives granted only increased old-age pensions , blind pensions, whole weight behind the Farmer-Labor Party. The leading
and arranged to have delinquent taxes collected. candidates of the Democratic ticket withdrew and the fusion -
About this time it first became evident that all was not well of the two parties on the Farmer-Labor ticket resulted in a
with the Governor's health. On the last day of 1935 he smashing blow at the Republicans. Final result revealed that
underwent an operation to determine the cause of a gastric ERxEsr Lmcarn had won by a majority of 260 ,959 votes for
disorder he had been suffering. He never fully recovered his the Senate and Elmer Benson by a majority of 248,502 for
vigor. Governor,
i^csox ^^'Tm CNZTID STATES SENATOR A majority of the congressional delegation again became
Also at this time the death of a United States Senator Farmer-Labor.
opened the way for Minnesota once more to claim two: Elected were Richard T. Buckler, Henry G. Teigan, John
Farmer-Labor Senators simultaneously. T. Bernard, Dewey W. Johnson, and Paul J. Kvale. These
This had not happened since 1923-24. Senator Thomas D. men represented the entire farming districts of western
Schall. Republican, struck down in a traffic accident , died in Minnesota, the iron range country, and the city of
Washington. There was a forthcoming session of Congress, Minneapolis. ` .
and Governor Olson announced he would appoint a successor, LIDXTArnoNS Or STATE ADMtNISU.ATION
and in the fall make the rare^Ior Senate himself. Although Let consider
for a moment the limitations of a State
he could have realized a life ambition to become Senator at administration
. Its operations in social and economic
that time, he said that he did not want to reach that office spheres
have gradually been curtailed through the years,
except by a vote of the people. Elmerm A as Benson, State fill
bank
the - the result of the desire of big business to gather all control
lug comm issioner, was nam ed by hi Senator to
vacancy caused by the death of Senator Schall. at a central point and then to take charge of that center.
This has been going on in America since the days of
OLSON S UPPORTS STRICT NEOZxALITT * EGisATI O N DIIEIA-O PozzmN WARS HE,mllton.
.

The summer found Olson somewhat recovered in health. If the Farmer-Labor Part won
His plans for the fall campaign were shaping up rapidly. The Party partial control oiMine
government-and for 8 consecutive
issue upon which he would make his fight, he said, was reform yearsa found
State that all Deeded it did
reforms, a with the possible
of the Supreme Court. That body had just invalidated the exception of one, generally had run
first A. A A and the N. R. A. Olson determined to seek a con- courts s clear to Lh,e
highest bench in
h ingauntlet ofitthe
the land. There was
stitutional amendment to make appointments to the Supreme nip and tuck whether the reformers could save their ]egis-
Court not for life but for a definite number of years. lation. The Cory traditions of the high courts are known
He also demanded strict neutrality legislation during for- to everyone.
eign wars and pledged a hard fight to that end. TI=E FICIIT TOR JUST TAXATION
TAE-16-ES-LABOR COMMN-TION UENONN RATION FOR OLSON The one possible exception to this was taxation, where
The 1936 convention of the Farmer-Labor A
ssociation, the State still retains some responsibility.
held in St. Paul, was one of the most enthusiastic in the his- Tax relief is a crying need in Minnesota, where even the
tory of the party. Several thousand persons attended, and basic constitution names the railroads as
at the appearance of the beloved Governor staged
escape but aasmall
all ed
link wild specially
share privileged
their proper tax load- Tax
demonstration. The party had now been in a dominant Pte- relief is closely with the need of the farmer. the
tion in State politics for 6 years and could point to a list of worker, and the independent businessman to win security.
reforms which, though battered by the die-hard reactionaries, In the case of the farmer especially, it was a fact that he
was notable even in an age of reform. paid twice as much taxes as any other group of citizens in
• GREAT rr•DS pti5= relation to income.
Following the convention, Olson was again taken very 'a The Farmer-Labor Party tried desperately to make a real
and a second corrective operation was needed. This slowed accomplishment of tax relief in Minnesota . Governor Olson
his campaign. He left the hospital early in August, intending fought until he had wrung from an opposition legislatu
o rest a few weeks before beginning the fall drive.. However, an income- tax law. But he did not ask for this law without":
tore
on the 16th he suffered a severe relapse and returned to the at the same time demanding reductions in taxes on farm and
 Notice: This material may Lt protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)
1591 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE
city homes: Thus, it never was a mere matter of more
taxes; It was a reasoned adjustment of the tax burden so
that L O e_^th ability to pay were required to -do so.
. BENSON CONTtNUM TAE MGRS -
This was. the background of the' fight carried on by Gov.
Elmer. A. Benson and the lower house in 1937against a tory
senate. Olson had- been able to take tax relief part way;
Benson was determined to finish the job Olson started. His
objectwas an entirely new tax structure which would relieve
general Property of its load In the end he was forced to
can tspecial session before he could f orce' concessions from
the conservatives
It was a long, bitter struggle. The reactionaries, as had
been their practice for years, sat doing nothing. Of course,
Benson and the other progressives did not allow them to con-
tinue this attitude. The Governor was a man of determina-
tion. When he made pledges he intended to stick by them
He had been elected by a vote which was- a 'mandate from
the people to enact his reform program. -Tax relief headed
that program. Its other "must's features were: A State
housing act; sufficient relief funds to cover all needs; full
coverage for unemployment compensation ; a fair trades and
practices act in behalf of independent merchants; reduction
of rural credits interest rates to farmers; and a State labor
relations act based upon the Wagner Act.
HPPE3 HOUSE FIGHTS PROGRA^L
It was clear- throught all that fight that the people were
on the side of the liberals. But that made the result 'no
more certain. ` The conservative State senate would have
gone to its grave fighting rather than expose the wealthy
and special interests groups to any reform. In the end,
however, the general property tax was reduced substantially.
Taxes on Steel Trust, telephone and telegraph companies,
express and freight lines, and on incomes and chain stores
were increased.
While the objective of complete tax revision was not--could
not--be achieved because of the senate, at least the main
features were.
The Benson administration attempted to carry out the
liberal traditions of the Farmer-Labor Party and to follow
the examples set by the great Floyd B. Olson.
Whenever the administration interceded to bring about
peace in labor disputes, the rights of the workers were never
compromised, particularly the right of collective bargaining.
The administration refused to renew the licenses of two na-
tional detective agencies to do business in Minnesota because
of the antilabor activities of these agencies as revealed before
the La Follette Senate Civil Liberties Committee. Academic
freedom in our schools and colleges was stoutly defended and
a dark b:ot upon the University of Minnesota's record, placed
there by the discharge during the period of the first World
War hysteria of the head of the department of political
science, Dr. William Schaper, was removed.
In the face of strong opposition, the administration suc-
ceeded in maintaining decent relief standards.
The farmer-labor tax program, with the aid of a liberal
lower house, was further advanced through passage of the
homestead exemption act, increased taxes upon iron ore and
upon wc:ath, and reduction in real-property taxes. A law was
pas c-d fix ng a minimum royalty of 50 cents per ton on all
iron ore removed from State-owned lands for all new leases,
..^ cs_npared to a at 25 cents per ton royalty contained in
tine lea-_s transacted during Republican administrations. A
fair trades practices act also was passed and rural credits
interest rates were lowered.
TALE EY - LABOR PRINCIPLES 17PHT1' a nT CoNar" 9
The record of the Farmer-Labor Senators and Congressmen
t rc-uzhout has been one of unwavering support for every
form of social legislation, and legislation designed to better
the conditions of the people, socially and economically, re-
gardless of who the sponsors were. It is also a consistent
record of bitter and uncompromising opposition to reaction
of every form.
'Ihe great body of social legislation enacted in recent years
by C*ngress was done with the aid of the Farmer-Labor Sea-
AUGUST 15
ators and Representatives. No other party in Congress can
claim so perfect a record for support of legislation beneficial
to labor, the farmer, and the general welfare of the people.
The Farmer-Labor Party in the Halls of Congress fought for
these--causes when they were unpopular, they manned their
guns through the fury ,of every storm. They never deserted
their post`s
6IGwn iI _&NC3 OF TEE FARME -L&BOS MOVEME rr
I have tried to indicate at various places in this account the
significance of the farmer-labor movement. It sprang from'
the militancy of the farmers and workersin the years just
pre cedingand during the first world War. Its basis was
economic discontent. The people wanted more of the good
things of life, they wanted an end to war, to depressions, and
to corruption in government.
They were weary of the two old parties which had amply
proved their -inability to improve conditions. A party of their
own had been a dream of many years' standing. In 1918
they formed it. It has lived to this day. It will grow beyond
the borders of Minnesota in the near future--of that I am
certain. It is destined to lead a great new national party- -
its objective the economic freedom of the common man. ` •'
SECURITT, PEACE, FREEDOM
During the 18 years that Farmer-Labor Representatives
and Senators have worked in the Congress, and during the 8
years when the party ruled in Minnesota., great masses of
people have come to realize that in Minnesota the farmers
and workers were actually proving that their own party was
'possible. These masses looked then-and they, look now-
to the Farmer-Labor movement to lead them forward to
security, peace, and freedom. Our party is a living, burning
symbol of this desire. It could not be crushed, not by
money, not by treachery, not by dissension, not by slander
or abuse. We have shown the people a way to the future.
Down the years the party, to consider its work at home,
has educated the people to think in terms of social and eco-
nomic change. No man in Minnesota can win an election
on his voice, his face, or even his party label. The people
have been taught to look behind these things and find the
program upon which he stands. Thus It was that in 1938
a Republican candidate stood no chance unless he pledged
himself-no matter how hypocritical-to the Farmer-Labor
program. He found it necessary to pose as something which
he was not-a liberal.
FARMER-LABOR SUFFERS A SE1 BACK IN 1939
The 1938 campaign unfortunately found the Farmer-La-
bor Party a house divided against itself. It is not for me
here to point out the reasons for this disunion; recrimina-
tions will serve no purpose. We learned a bitter lesson-
and one which, I am sure, will In the future result in a
greater unity than ever before. Individual differences will
be forgotten in rallying around a program which we need
and which we all can support.
There is no denying that the Farmer-Labor Party suffered
a severe set-back at the polls. We lost the governorship,
and the other State officers. Liberal representation in both
the upper and lower houses of the State legislature was
drastically reduced. The party returned but one Congress-
man to Washington. We were caught during one of the
temporary reactionary waves which swept the country, and
the party's disunity made it impossible for liberals to hold
back the sweep of reaction.
The people, however, now see the fraudulent nature of the
Republican campaign. They have been educated in Minne-
sota to distinguish between genuine liberalism and fake lib-
eralism. They may be fooled once, but they cannot be fooled
a second time, even when conservatism comes to them
streamlined and sugar-coated. They know it for the bitter
pill that it is, and will not continue with that kind of medi-
cation. It does not agree with them.
RD7UREY2 T DEP2ZS&WNS-FAKE „ T•IISM E POSED
What we have been experiencing in this country - under
the old political parties has been periods of recurrent de---
e- -
pressions, interspersed with periods of so-called prosperity;`.'
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194D _. _ _;^^ CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE 15919

and ?these periods of so-called prosperity.- have been -pros- Ing at less than 60 percent of capacity-in some years much
perity in -,a relative sense only. :At'no time 'have the ,great -mouse we -confessedly did- not know how , to get the
maser a tY3e People.- the gr eat masses of-ou citizens whose wealth that these factories could produce to the people who
labor produces all our social wealth-=felt a real Bence of eco.- need this wealth badly. Where is there moral :justification
namic security. At no time have they been able to accumulate for such an economy ?
during, periods of, prosperity sufficient - The present national emergency brought home to many:,--
money, if you please-to take care of themselves.and their people a fact that liberals and Progressives ofthis country.,.
families during the trying periods of depressions and for, have known right along-that an economy based upon scar- . _.
thelr-old age. _ --In fact, the, standard of living of the masses city contributes neither to our strength as ; a nation nor, t
has ^ been high nly in contrast- with some other countries, the happiness and prosperity of the average citizen. It is
butt has beeno`very low indeed when the natural resources axiomatic . that. we cannot, became wealthier as a nation bp`,.
of our country and its ability to produce great wealth are producing less wealth. There is something drastically wrong-..
taken Into consideration. , ". with it am
What have been. the reasons for these recurrent depres- - - sPENDn o ONLT am-zrDr .DX%' -NATIONAL n .-S -
sions? When the Democratic Party is in power the allegr- Thus far, Government spending is the only way we have
tion has been that it is because business has no confidence. been able to devise to give the macs greater purchasing
This, of course, Is just so much dust thrown into the eyes power ; but vast as this spending has been, it has been woe-
of the people. It contains no element of truth whatever. fully insufficient, even though it has brought food, shelter,
Who ever heard of an automobile manufac^ refusing to and clothing of a kind to the needy, which many have be=
manufacture automobiles that he could sell at - a profit be-. grudged them. -
cause he did not like the politics of the party in power? And the only effort of Government in recent years to reduce
Who ever heard of a radio manufacturer refusing to manu- spending and balance the Budget brought about an immedi-.
facture radios he could sell at a profit for the same reason? ate business recession from which we have not yet` recovered.
Or the Power Trust refusing to generate as much electricity That was when Wall Street wrote the ticket. Obviously, Wall
as its customers wanted to consume? - The claim of "lack ,Street medicine is not good medicine for the people. ..
of confidence" Js -a preposterous one. Now . we are going in for Government spending in a really
Ac$ or col.FmFaa(s" FARE - big way, not ostensibly to relieve unemployment and. to bring
. Were such claims legitimate, we would have enjoyed per- about presumed.-prosperity but to prepare for national de-
manent prosperity under Republican administrations , and- -fense -I am not opposed to spending money . for common-
the people never would have had occasion to turn their Gov - sense national defense. I believe that our Nation should
ernment over to the Democratic Party. Could big business become so strong that no other nation or group of nations'
have had any mare confidence than It did when the " great can ever successfully attack us.
engineer," Herbert Hoover, sat in the White House? Hoover NEW PROSPER=IT IN OF'FIN'G-MORE NATIONAL DEFENSE
was the apostle of big business; and yet it was under Mr. But I am not talking about Government spending in terms
Hoover that the country went into its deepest depression of of national defense but rather In terms of our national econ-
all times. omy. While conservatives were opposed to Government
The trouble is that neither the Republican Party nor the spending when it meant saving of homes and keeping our
Democratic Party has had the courage-I will not say intelli- people alive, they are not opposed to spending for national
gence, since the best economic brains of the country have been defense, because they think they, are merely paying high
at their disposal-to attempt to solve the fundamentals of insurance premiums to keep the war-profiteering §ystem
our economic problem. The reason Is that their solution under which they have, accumulated millions alive. - Inci-
would mean treading an the toes of the mighty. The Farmer- dentally, they think that they can pass a large share of the
Labor Party has no "sacred cows" to protect. increased taxes for national defense on to the common
The only legitimate reason there can be for a 'depression people.
is when nature fails and there is not enough food to go Of course, the results of this kind of spending from an eco-
around, like the famines of old. That has never been the nomic point of view will be almost identical with the other
case here. Neither overproduction nor lack of confidence kind of spending we have been used to. We can look forward
can be accepted as valid reasons why people should go to a so-called prosperity spurt. But when the spending is
hungry. over, and the millions put to work thereby will again be
ECONOMT OF SCARCrrT LADS pushed out on the streets, making the rounds daily at facto-
The fact that we have been compelled to resort to an econ-' ries with, signs on the doors, "No help wanted," we will find
omy of scarcity rather than to an economy of plenty is proof ourselves In an even sadder predicament than we are in
that neither of the old parties has found a real solution to today, unless in the meantime we go about the task of tack-
the problem. ling our economic problem from its fundamental aspects.
An economy of scarcity violates every moral concept-every ECONOMIC SOLUTION BEIN G DELATED
rule of man and God. What of the aftermath if we do not find now the perma-
From an economic standpoint, it is based on fallacy. It nent answer to the problem? We must not forget the results
benefits not the great mass of the producers of wealth but of the last war economy-the flare of presumed prosperity,
rather the few individuals who already enjoy special benefits with its stock-market boom, the mad gamble, and then the
and special considerations under our Government. day of reckoning, with its blasted homes, destroyed firesides,
When the Republicans were in power, we dumped food- broken hearts, suicides, a bankrupt agriculture, an army of
stuffs by the hundreds of thousands of tons into the ocean to unemployed of such staggering proportions that we believed
keep these foodstuffs from the hungry. On the basis of a impossible, business failures, bank crashes--a nation fast
presumed surplus, the grain dealers, who really have been losing its faith in democracy, because democracy had failed
the price fixers for the farmers, beat down the price to the to give the people the substance of life.
level where the farmers did not even receive cost of produe- Economists know that what we are doing now is only a
tion for their labors. Then, on the basis of primed scar- makeshift arrangement--supplying merely a sedative to the
city. the grain gamblers invariably shot the prices up after patient, but fiat a real cure for the disease . We must develop
the farmer had nothing left to sell. an economy based on plenty, able to distribute to the people
sCAE(:rr A rM SZ W 031T the vast wealth which our tremendous resources and our
In recent years, we have been telling our farmers to produce gigantic industrial and agricultural plant is able to produce.
less foodstuffs. not because there are not enough consumers To bring about that kind of an economy Is the. chief airn of
to absorb these products but because the people did not have the Farmer-Labor Party,
enough money with which to buy essentialsLclothes , food. anti' A country's greatness is measured not by the number of its
housing. At the same time, our factories have been operat- . great masses of its citizens, The nation' emergency has
 Notice: This material may t,, protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)
15920 , CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE
taught-u.
of national weakness. -
OCBACY ,nor AcITON WM L U=2= TUNE 27 0T FOR :7EOPSX'_-
ve` 'said that the Farmer-labor--arty 7represents
democracy in action-real democracy, under which govern-
ment becomes the servant of all the people and not the hand-
maiden of the few. It is precisely because of the way that,-
democracy-,so-called. has been administered by the old par-
ties it is in peril today Y
I.et
" us make democracy work.- let everyone under our:
den'Av racy have a genuine., stake. in 'that . democracy. . T:I,et -
democracy give real economic security to our people; and this
country will become so strong and so powerful that it will be
immune from attack, both from within" and from without.
This is even more essential than military preparedness, be-
,cause a happy and contented people will always be the
Nation's strongest defenders.
FAEMER-ILABoB Parer POINTS WAY
The Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota points the way. It
has shown that a common people's government can be made
to work, to win elections, to educate the people to approach
politics with clearness, and to formulate a definite program
possible of accomplishment. It has sent good men to the
statehouse, to the legislature, and to the Congress. It not
only promises reforms but it produces them. It shows that a
national Farmer-Labor Party is not only possible but that it is
absolutely necessary. The great masses of the people will in
the not distant future win America back for themselves
At the dinner of the famous Gridiron Club late in 1931,
Floyd B. Olson, our distinguished Governor, predicted that a
new national insurgent party would spring up to rescue the
people from the terrible pressure of economic collapse. That
prediction will some day come true.
Mr. President, I ask that the bibliography on the Farmer-
Labor Party of Minnesota and references to magazine and
newspaper articles regarding that party be printed in the.
RECORD. -
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. GmsoN in the chair). Is
there objection?
There being no objection , the matters were ordered toe
printed in the REcoRD, as follows:
Bn IocaAPNY ON THE FAab= -LABos PASTY or MLYNrSOTA
BOOKS AND PAMPBT.EIS
1. Floyd B . Olson. A memorial volume by John McGrath and
James Delmont . 1937. .
2. Fine, Nathan. Labor and Farmer Parties In the United States,
10^28-- 1928 , New York Rand School Press , 1928 . 445 pages.
3. League for Independent Political Action. Audacity! Audacityl
Always Audacity! The League , New York, 1933. -
4_ Russell, Charles Edward . The Story of the Non -Partisan League.
Harpers & Bro ., 1920.
5_ Gaston, Herbert. The Non-Partisan League.
PERIODICAL ABTTCI.tS
1. Amite, Thomas R. The American Commonwealth Federation;
What Chance in 1936? Common Sense. August 1935. pages 6-8.
2. Brown. Francis. The Power of Progressivism. Common Sense,
November 1935, pages 12-15.
3. Build a New Party! World Tomorrow, December 1929.
4. Christian, H. Wisconsin People's Front; Forme;-Labor 'Pro-
gressive Federation. Nation, December 18. 1935.
5. Clear Call for New Third Party; Left-Wingers of Thirty States
Organize and Plan for National Convention. Literary Digest, Jan-
ua_-y 13. 1935.
6. Creel, C. Let's Have Another Party. World's Work, March
1930.
7. Dewey, J. Future of Radical Political Action. Nation. January
4, 1933-
8. Dewey , J. Need for a New Party. New Republic, March 18-
April 8. 1931.
9. Dewey . J. Prospects for a Third Party . New Republic, Janu-
ary. 27. 1932.
10. Dr . Dewey and the Insurgents . World Tomorrow, February
1931.
11. Dowry's Third Party . Outlook, January 7, 1931.
12 Doug as. H. H. State Farmer-labor Parties. World Tomor-
row. September 28, 1933.
13. Election and Third Parties. Christian. Century, December 7,
1934.
14. Fula, S. Pallure of Minor Parties- Current History, April
1930.
15. Farmer Laborien Under Fire. Common Sense, February 1936,
- October 9, 1935, 5:1: Resolutions offered for labor party.
page 25. .
16 Fars Commonwealth 'Party: ' Y ommrm Sense , -May -1935:---
pages 2 3 : .
17. Granite, M:" Coming: The United States Liberal Party. Na-
lion December -5,1934_ - ;
18- t3roves, Harold M Radical Parties: The Wisconsin Progressive
Party. -.Common Sense,, May 1935, pages 19-22 ,
--19. Hangren, M. A. New Radicalism In America Contemporary ._.'
Review, January I932. :^ _- _.
20. 1Ialorer, M-:A T21ird Party'Fantasy _ Ame.riran mercury-_
22 . Eu rhinann P We I1eed a 3 abor .Party Now. .Foram, May
1932 a : m r 4 -
.
231 b'O Pt Wb?
Sorwnary, Wldmm
enor Toorrow, Septeber 21.'
last aT w - F 9. _ ti
.24_Lalaler, W. Third Party Po lities: North American Re-
view, September 1932 -
25_ Lovett, R. M. Party in Embryo; Third Party Conference With
Editorial Comment. New Republic, January 24, 1935. ' -
26. Lucock, J. T. For a national Labor Party. New Republic,
August 7 , 1935.
27. Lundeen, Ernest. A Farmer-Labor party for the Nation-
Corn mon Sense, June 1935 , pages 6-8. -
28. A Map of Political America: Where the Chief Political Move-
meats in the United States Stand. Common Sense, July 1935,
pages 16-17. -
29. Miller, A. W. Canada's Challenge to America.- Common Sense,
July 1935. pages 13-16
30. Must o, A. J. New Labor Party. New Republic, February 17.
1932.
37. Need For a New Party. New Republic, January 7, 193L-
38. New Liberal Party? Nation, February 6, 1929.
39. New Party News. Common Sense, February . 31, 25,
40. New Party and the Unions. New Republic, January 10, 1935
41. New Party Obstacles. Nation, February 4, 193L
.
42..pc,pr
New Party Prospects New Reubli Ail 1,
1936'
43. New Party-Tale or Reality. Common - Sense.- August 1935,
pages 2- 3 . -7;1 -
:_ _ ...:
44. New Party; the Program. New Republic May 29, 1935.
45. 1936 Is the Time. Common Sense, April 1936 , page 2.
46. No New Party Needed. World Tomorrow. August 31, 183,4.
47. Niebuhr, R. Making Radicalism Efi'ective. World Tomor-
row, December 21, 1933.
48. Olson, Floyd B. Why a New National Party? Common Sense,
January 1936, page 68.
49. Oneal, J. Messiah vs. Messiah vs. Messiah, Third-Party Move-
ments American Mercury , October 1932.
50. Party for the People . Nation, January 28, 1931.
51. Pfuetzo, P. E. Farmers Confront City Radicals. World To.-
morrow, November 23 , 1933.
52. Rhode Island Elections and New Party . New Republic, An
gust 21, 1935.
53. Rodman, S. Insurgent Line-up For 1936 . American Mercury,
May 1936.
54. Sherman, N. Connecticut Forms a Labor Party. Nation,
January 31, 1930. -
55. Strachey. John. Against an American Third Party. Ameri-
can Mercury, January 1934. - -
56. Tentatively Commonwealth Party; Draft of Platform. New
Republic, May 8, 1935.
57. Third Parties, Two Kinds. Christian Century. October 19,
1932.
58. Third Party . Commonweal , January 12, 1935. -
59. Third Party Movement Tries Its Wings; American Common-
wealth Political Federation. Christian Century, January 17, 1935,
-60. Third-Party Movement. Nation, April 4, 1934.
61. Thomas, N. Why Not a New Party? North American Review,
February 1929.
62. Toward a New Party. Nation. January 14 , 1931. -
63. Toward a New Party. New Republic. May 22, 1935.
64. Van ffieeck, Mary. Do We Need a Labor Party? Social Work
Today, December 1935 . pages 8-11.
65. Whitcomb, Robert. Floyd B . of Minnesota. Common Sense,
February 1936, pages 18-22.
66. Williams, H. Y. Do Americans Want a New Party? World
Tomorrow, March 1931.
NEw6PAF ABrrcLm
From the New York Times:
1. March 6. 1938 , 7:2: Farmer-Labor party federation fear Long
and Coughlin becoming leaders of a third-party movement.
2. March 10, 1936 , 11:3: C . C. Lundeen Powers. Third party in
war prevention.
3. March 26,1938 ,17:2: Third-party forum planned.
4, March 28 , 1938 .2:2: Governor Olson favors forming third party,
5. May 16 , 1938 , 2:1: Coughlin rejects third-party move.
6_ May 19 . 1938 , 31:2: A. Lobkowitz urges establishment of inde-
pendent labor. Labor party opposes.
7. June 28 , 1938. I :e: L. Waldman urges A. F. of L. to take lead
in forming labor party.
June 1, 1935, 1:1: Amite urges federation of groups seeking social
change to form labor party.
July 17. 1935 . 37:1: Hosiery workers urge labor party.
August 23, 1935 . 2:8: Commonwealth federation meeting.
October 4,1935,46:4: Metal-trades department, A. F. of L, opposes
formation of farmer labor party.
 Notice: This material may ty protected by copyright law (Title 17 J.S. Code)

1940.;_. CON RESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE 15921

Octobet 34, 1935 : E recutfve committee iconoclastic party favors,
Jo'ninc farmer-labor party when demand for It grows..
7-1935, 24: 1 F J. Gorman holds labor party is hope of
Octxrb^r 2x
nniot> cU - _
October 13,:1933.~11:3: Review of moves to form labor party,-
November 14, 1935. 4:2: j.`P_:2at-ehild says :formation of
party; is vital issue; Olson says name Reference : N- 12 22 :4;
29c5.'
February 1;.1936,4:2: S. Hallman-ages United political
labor umans r
Pebruary.:9, 198 2: N. T4iomas'urges formation 'labor party.
Mar h ^ I. 1936_82:1 : Philadelphia textile workers favor . formation 1
of faT_:ner-labor patty. ^'

Beard, Mrs. Mary (Ritter) : A Short History of the American Labor

Movement:. New York, George II, Doran Oo. (1925 ). 206 pp. (The
Worker's Bookshelf . vol. v.)
Carroll, Millie Ray: labor and Politics; The Attitude of the
American Federation of Labor Toward Legislation and Politics.
(Boston and New York, 1923.)
Coming Labor Patty. Nation, April 15. 1936, V. 142 : 468-469.
Commons, John R., and others: History of -labor in the United
States, by J. R _ Commons, David J . Sapoos . Helen L.- Sumner,
K B. Mittelman, H. K Hoagland , John B. Andrews ( and) Selig
Perlman. New. York, 1926. -
Douglas. Paul H_: State Farmer-Labor Parties World Tomorrow.
September 28, 1922 , vol. 16; 544.
Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota ( in American Labor Yearbook.
1932 ). By the Labor Research P..eports , 1928 : 767-793. ..
A Labor Party for America. Modem Monthly . September. 1933
vol 7 : 491-495.
Hardman J. B- S.: Labor Parties: United States. " ' (In -
Encyclo-paedia of the Social Sciences, edited by Edwin R_ A. Seligman. var..
8.) New York. 1932, pp. 706-706.:
Hillgnist, Morris, and Matthew Woll: Should the American Workers
Form a Political Party of Their Own? A debate: M. M. Hillquist,
yes; M . Well, no. New York, 1932 . 31 pp. -
Rice, Stuart A.: Farmers and Workers in American Politics. New
York. Columbia University , 199L 231 pp . ( Studies in history, eco-
nomics, and public law.)
Rodman. Selden : Letter from Minnesota. New Republic , August
15, 1934, vol . 80: 10-12.
Ross, Anne : Minnesota Sets Some Precedents. New Republic,
September 12. 1934 , vol. 80 : 121-123. -
Warner. Arthur : Farmer-Labor Party's Birth. Socialist review.
September 1920 , voL 9 : 134-136.
RECESS TO MONDAY
Mr. SHEPPARD. Mr. President, I move that under the
order heretofore entered, the Senate stand in recess until
11 o'clock a. in. on Monday neat.,
The motion was agreed to; and the Senate ( at 6 o'clock
p. mJ took a recess , the recess being.. under the order pre-
viously entered, to Monday, August 19, 1940 , at 11 o'clock
a. m.