Raymond Park Chase (March 12, 1880 – September 18, 1948) was a
United States representative from
Minnesota and a
Minnesota State Auditor.
Life and career
Chase was born in
Anoka County, Minnesota on March 12, 1880. He attended the public schools and graduated from the
University of Minnesota at
Minneapolis in 1903. Chase attended the
University of Minnesota Law School in 1904, 1905, 1915, and 1916, but did not graduate. He engaged in the publishing and printing business at Anoka, Minnesota from 1904 to 1914.
Chase served as municipal judge of Anoka, Minnesota from 1911 to 1916, and as deputy State auditor and land commissioner of Minnesota from 1916 through 1920. Chase returned to law school at
William Mitchell College of Law (then the St. Paul College of Law) and finally graduated in 1919;
was admitted to the bar the same year but did not practice. He was elected state auditor as a
Republican in 1920, and served through 1931. He stood unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for
Governor of Minnesota in 1930.
Chase was elected as a Republican to the
73rd congress
The 73rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1933, ...
(March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935) during a period when the state elected all Representatives
at-large
At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
. He unsuccessfully sought renomination in 1934 when the seats were again broken into districts. After serving in Congress, Chase practiced law, specializing in legal research from 1935 through 1943. From 1944 through 1948 he served as a member of the
Minnesota Railroad and Warehouse Commission.
During the 1938 gubernatorial race, Chase authored a book "Are They Communists or Catspaws: A Red Baiting Article", trying to prove a link between the incumbent
Farmer-Labor Party administration and the
Communist Party, however the book blatantly introduced
anti-Semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
into Minnesota politics as all of his examples were addressing Jews.
[Patrick Coleman]
A Dark Chapter in Minnesoa's Political History
Minnesota Historical Society, January 2009. The book helped his side win the election, but it also prompted the organization, Jewish Community Relations Council, to combat local anti-Semitism.
[
Chase died in Anoka, Minnesota, on September 18, 1948. He is interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Anoka.
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Ray P.
State Auditors of Minnesota
1880 births
1948 deaths
People from Anoka County, Minnesota
University of Minnesota Law School alumni
William Mitchell College of Law alumni
Minnesota lawyers
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American lawyers