“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp.” – R. Browning.
Andersen borrowed this quote to use for the title of his book A Man’s Reach and it sums up how he wanted to be remembered. It is the kind of message we should all strive to live out. Learning more about Elmer Andersen was one of the pleasures of this last campaign. It is sad to see some one with such a great spirit leaving the rest of us to our small mindedness. Here are a couple of quotes from his collection of speeches, I Trust to be Believed, that really impressed me;
People need quality services from government, and the way to provide them is through industrial development. Industrial development is built around education and investment in people, not tax cuts. Anyone who knows business knows that taxes are really not the issue that decides where firms locate. The crucial issue, after consideration of market, is the adequacy of the available workforce. An industry surrounding new development goes where people are trained and skilled in that development. The firms that choose low tax states are those that can tolerate poor education because they rely on low-wage, unskilled labor. Desirable industries, those that pay high wages and seek to maximize the per capita production of each employee, need the things that a high-tax state provides. They need a fine workforce of well-educated, healthy people who are attracted to a place because of its culture and amenities, not its cheapness.
Minnesota has enjoyed great success with a high-services strategy. When I ran for governor in 1960, personal income was below the national average, and population was declining. Not long afterward, the state’s average income began to climb, until it reached fourth-highest in the nation in 2000. It’s so sad that some people in my own Republican Party seem not to have learned the lesson that taxes do not harm the economy. They help it, by creating a better workforce and place to do business . . .
Paying taxes is like going to a store. You don’t go to a store with the purpose of spending money. You go to obtain something you need or want. Taxes aren’t a loss of money; they are the price of essential services. It’s been an easy political game to promise tax cuts, and to make people feel sorry for themselves, when as matter of fact the taxes people pay are probably the best investment they make. They can be proud to pay the price, if it lifts the standard of social life in their community and state. People need to be educated about government budgets, so they understand that tax money goes to services they want, and that if they don’t pay the price they suffer.
After acknowledging he did not support the president’s premature invasion of Iraq, Elmer L. Andersen said, “while giving our leaders the support they need to carry on a difficult mission, we shouldn’t go overboard in restricting fundamental rights of our own people. It’s going to be a difficult time.”
I think there’s a certain American spirit that is called forth by necessity, frequently in trying situations . . . it’s part of my own belief that in every incident, there’s something to be learned. When something happens that seems to be a tragedy or a disappointment, there is something to be learned. When something happens that seems to be a tragedy or a disappointment, there is a something to turn to advantage . . . any person can make a difference, any person can add to the culture of the country, any person can add to the happiness of the unfortunate. If we all do what we can where we can, the we’ll have a good country. I think it was Eisenhower who said, “America will be great as long as it is good. If she ceases to be good, she’ll cease to be great.”
Andersen is a different kind of Republican in the tradition of Lincoln and Eisenhower, who had a concern for the common good and its precedence over individual gain. His legislative and administrative records show a career of introducing initiatives to help people. He would agree with Lincoln who said,
Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.
Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 (U.S. President 1861-65)
In one of Elmer Andersen’s last speeches, he summed up his views on life in Minnesota. What follows is the end of a speech he gave for the Minnesota Book Awards on April 20, 2001. 
I think we’re coming to the end of a materialistic age, where money was more important than anything else and the heart of a future is going to be in meetings like this. And in Minnesota, the heart of the culture is right here because it’s in the expression of the poetry in the lives of people, the history of politics, the generations that have gone before that should stand as a springboard for future citizenship that will be more appreciative of our government, more respectful of the views of others, dedicated not to private gain but to public service for the welfare of all. That should be the mission of all of us.
Both Minneapolis St. Paul papers had cover stories celebrating Andersen as well as MPR. Here are some links to those stories:
MPR: Elmer L. Andersen dead at 95
Elmer L. Andersen: Why this Republican ex-governor will be voting for Kerry
Former governor, philanthropist Elmer L. Andersen dies by GREGG AAMOT
A link to the Univ. of Minnesota Anderson Library He was a great book lover and collected a personal library of over 12,000 volumes, something I can certainly identify with.
I like what you did on my great grandpa i hope you had fun creating this web page and once again you did a good job