to this time, and so was born the Democratic-Farmer Labor Party. From that time, the majority of Minnesota's Finnish labor force, as well as the majority of the state's Finnish farmers, have been supporters of this party."   -

In spite of the two-party system in the United States and the veritable impossibility of third-party candidates to succeed, the Finns were not accustomed to giving up without trying. In 1900, for example, their temperance groups put in Jacob Kaminen as candidate for Congress "on the dry ticket." In 1906 they tried unsuccessfully to get A. Simonen into the United States Senate on the Socialist ticket, and in 1924 to get V. S. Alanne elected Governor (of Wisconsin) with the help of the Workers' Party.

However, at the time (1907) when Larson moved from Michigan to continue his law practice in Duluth, and to continue his role in political life, Ilmonen's laconic statement in the preface to one of his books was certainly valid: "The nationalistically minded Finnish-American population is considered to belong to the Republican Party." After 20 years in Duluth, Larson risked becoming a candidate in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District and became the first, and probably only, man born in Finland to be elected a member of the United States Congress_ In 1922 he was re-elected with a 3,000 vote majority and remained in

Washington for four more years. Afterwards Larson returned to Duluth, where he continued to practise law. He has always been proud of his ancestry and has many times stepped in to work for the good of the land of his birth, in the difficult years during the two world wars and the reconstruction periods following them. He was awarded the Order of the Finnish White Rose in 1920, and in 1933 was promoted to Commander in that order.

With the exception of Larson's seat in Congress, the Finns of Minnesota have not made their voices heard in either party. To be sure, John P. Erickson was named a member of the 1936 Democratic Conventon, but very rarely does one hear of Democratic, or Republican, Finnish clubs. If there has been some joint, organized action it has been temporary, put together for the duration of a specific campaign. Jokinen has come to the conclusion that the second generation Finns have been largely pro-Republican, since outside of their homes, at school or college, they have, unlike their possibly more radical parents, come into more intimate contact with outside influences. But, as has been suggested above, their political aspirations have perforce been limited to attempts to gain office on a local level. Some offices have been appointive, such as the service of Matti Viitala of

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