Ray P. Chase

American politician

Raymond Park Chase (March 12, 1880 – September 18, 1948) was a United States representative from Minnesota and a Minnesota State Auditor.

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 (March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935) during a period when the state elected all Representatives at large. 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 into Minnesota politics as all of his examples were addressing Jews. 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.