Stassen Farmers Agreed and Stassen Making Life Career
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
124 So. St. Paul/lnver Grove Heights,West St. PauyMendota Heights Sun.CurrenWVednesday, March 14, 2001 www.mnSun.com buyers to pay higher prices. The Glen said. "I think his peace- Stassen farmers agreed and Stassen making life career ... came out was successful in negotiating of his hometown labor strife." higher milk prices. The lessons learned as a From Page 1A Another life-changing mo- young man in Dakota County ment in Stassen's life as county would remain with Stassen into For instance, while serving attorney occurred during a his later years as governor, and as county attorney, Stassen strike at South St. Paul's stock- later as foreign diplomat. helped to settle a dispute be- yards, Glen said. The National While governor, Stassen tween local dairy farmers and Guard surrounded the stock- helped pass legislation requir- St. Paui merchants. The dairy yards with bayonets and forced ing workers to wait 30 days be- farmers had threatened to block the striking meat packers away fore being allowed to strike. a local highway and dump milk from the building so non-union "He cut down the number of in protest o[ low milk prices. workers could get in. strikes by about one-third with "Dad said to them, 'If you do Glen said his father always this law," Glen said. that, we will need to arrest you, remembered that scene because In L943, Stassen left Min- and there will probably be vio- of the unjust treatment of work- nesota to fight in World War II. lence and other farmers will get CIS. He served in the Pacific Theater hurt and it won't solve any- "Through these experiences, and helped liberate prisoners of thing."' he learned to solve violence by war. Stassen then volunteered to talking things through and by Afber the war, Stassen played represent the {armers free-of- making a plan that can take a critical role in helping found charse and convince St. Paul what people need seriously," the United Nations, serving as a delegate for the United States. He later ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1948, narrowly losing to Thomas Dewey. After losing the election, Stassen remained on the East Coast, serving as president of the University of Pennsylvania. Although temporarily out of the political arena, grandson BilI Stassen recalled at the funeral how his grandfather had been a David Eyestone/Sun Newspapers crusader for racialjustice at the Hundreds of mourners paid their final respects to Harold Stassen university, integrating both the March 10 in West St. Paul football team and medical school. ing to Sunfrsh Lake. During this Glen said his dad was a caring "People don't know about it time. he became known as a father who taught his children [his civil rights work] because perennial candidate for presi- the importance of integrity and he didn't talk about it," his dent as a platform to express his justice. grandson said. "He didn't do the views. "My sister and I broke down things for self-recognition [or] The last few years of his life crJnng at those points when we for public accolades. He did were spent in a nursing home in talked about what a gift it was them because they were the Bloomington, helping care for to have such a father," he said. David Eyestone/Sun Newspapers right thing to do." his wife, who died last October. "We really are grateful for his Harold Stassen's granddaughter, Rachel Stassen-Berger speaks at Stassen and his wife came In addition to Stassen's in- caring and support. his funeral. back to Minnesota in 1978. mov- ternational accomplishments, THE POWER OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 0n 100th anniversary of his birth, lessons from Stassen's legacy fltoday is the 100th In the Navy dur- I anniversary of my ing World War tl, father's birth. I want Dad experienced the to tell a story about fierce battles with the Harold Stassen was elected governor him that can help us Japanese in the South of Minnesota in get our bearings in Paciflc. He then saw 1938 at age 31, the youngest this confusing time. the devastation in governor ever in the U.S., and re-elected When Dad was 7 Japan itself. Even by landsides in years old, World War GLEN before the Japanese :t940 and I began and lasted ,tU42,,He - HAROLD surrender was official- 'lCd for four years oftragic ly signed, he rushed in , ',,,,.. STASSEN and senseless suffer- a Jeep from Japanese Minni:,.,: ing. POW camp to POW sota to ,: As a boy, Dad used to read camp rescuing prisoners. He combat'.r, the National Geographic Maga- showed us photos of emaciated politi{ai.i zine regularly. (Grandpa and starving prisoners. cfofl€lf-,.:,r Stassen was an immigrant Ger- \Arhen he got back, he told me: ism and, graft man tomato farmer with a sixth- "War is so terrible that we have by developing its first grade education, but he sub- to do all we can to prevent World civil service law and an impartial state purchasing scribed to National Geographic.) War III. Atomic bombs are so As a Christian teenager, Dad destructive that we have to do all system; a "Count Ten" labor law provided made a commitment to do what we can to prevent another use of that a 10-day he could to prevent more wars. those bombs." "cooling-off period" before a Years later, Dr. Gerald Brodschi, Before he died, he said, "Well, strike and greatly reduced the director of the International the United Nations is not perfect, the number of strikes; ind he Center at the University of but it and work on international integrated the Minnesota Louisville, attended a confer- agreements have helped prevent National Guard racially well before U.S. ence with my father; he told me world war and nuclear war for b0 Armed Services later i he was amazed at Dad's knowl- years." He loved the work I was fol lowed M nnesota's edge of world geography. doing on developing the new lead, He resigned in 1943 to ethic of just peacemaking. I serve in the Navy in World War He Among the things Dad learned that political science ll. was director of knew was this: The failure of the data show he was right: Nations foreign aid under President Dwight United States to join the League cooperating actively with the Eisenhower; and of Nations after World War I con- U.N. experience war less often. then, as Eisenhower's tributed to the coming of World "secretary for peace," he Wartr. I believe my father's mes- began the U.5. Arms Control While Dad was governor of sage can help us understand and Disarmament Agency. Minnesota from 1939 to 1%8. as what so many of us, regardless of World War II was breaking out, political party, observe: Present he did what was unusual for a policies are not working out well, March 4,200I; I am thankful he Midwestern Republican gover- and the rest ofthe world increas- did not live to see this. nor: He advocated that the Unit- ingly resents the United States. ed States should lead in forming We need help diaglosing what Credit Condoleeza Rice and a United Nations to prevent more has gone wrong so the next Christopher Hill for moving us a such wars. administration. of whichever step back toward the internation- Fresident Flanklin Roosevelt party, makes the right correc- al cooperation that has achieved heard him make that case in the tions. North Korea's agreement to stop annual Gridiron Speech in Wash- Advisers who have now left developing nuclear weapons. I ington in 1940, and it made an the present administration hope for talks with Iran and impression. Roosevelt himself pushed to base security not on Syria as recommended by the called for forming a United international cooperation but on bipartisan Iraq Study Group. Nations, and appointed my father U.S. firepower. They refused the On this, my father's 100th to take a temporary leave from U.N. inspectors'reports that they bfuthday, I commit myself to the U.S. Navy to be a U.S. dele- cor-rld find no weapons of mass doing my bit to restore interna- gate to the U.N. charter-writing destruction in Iraq, and made tional cooperation in order to assembly in San Francisco in war despite the opposition of the prevent another major war, or 1945. Dad worked to reach agree- U.N. Security Council. nuclear war. I invite others to ment on the U.N. Charter, over- They withdrew from or joinme. coming disagreements by Rus- blocked eight international sians and others. treaties, mostly designed to pre- Glen Harold Srcssen is Lewis When the assembly was over, vent the spread of weapons of Smedes Professor of Christian the reporters covering the mass destruction. They removed Ethics at FuIIer Theological Semi- Assembly from the many nations the protection of international narg in Pasadena, Calif., and is voted on who contributed the law from prisoners of war, who the author of "Liuing the Sermon most to the chafier's success. were then torh',red. Thev on the Mount')'pnd editor of "Just ; Dad tied with the ambassador refused negotiations with Nortir P eace making : 1'en Practi ce s for from Australia for the award. Korea, Iran and Syria. Dad died Abolishing War." WHEREAS: Harold E. Stassen was born in West St. Paul, Minnesota, on April 1.3, L907; and WHEREAS: Harold E. Stassen graduated from the University of Mlnnesota and the University of Minnesota Law School where he served as president of the student council and earned the rank of ' Lieutenant Colonel in the ROTC program; and WHEREAS: Harold E.