The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1884-09-26
ssTHIRD. CANDIDATES.

erned country. Outside of these two no
other party can be great and permanent.
The third party, as any one is termed which
is not one of the two-and there may be
two or three third parties at once-must
either extinguish one of the old ones or die
itself.
In the early days of the government the
two parties were the Federal and the anti
Federal, or Republican parties. The Fed
eral party was gradually dying from the
time of Mr.. Jefferson's first election, in
1900, until it became finally extinct at Mr..
| Monroe's second election in 1920.
| In 1924 there were four candidates for
the Presidency, but the tendency of ele-
ments constituting opposing forces to con-
solidate made the parties only two in 1923,
and they were known as Democrats and
National Republicans.
During General Jackson's second term,
the question of Notification and State
rights caused an important body of South
ern men to separate from the Democratic
party, but the new organization was short
lived Most of its members united with
the National Republicans to form the
Wing party, the rest became Democrats
again.
In 1910 the Abolition party first appear
ed, very small party indeed, with less
than twenty thousand votes in the whole
country But in 1874, although not one
electoral vote was cast for its candidate,
Mr.. Birney, in any State, the popular vote
was large enough to defeat Henry Clay
and elect James K. Polk. This party last
ed until it was merged with the Republican
party of the present day.
But while it played an important part in
the elections of 1874, 1S4s and 1852, it was
comparatively small in numbers, never one
fourth as many as the smaller of the two
great parties Yet, small as it was, it de-
stroyed the Wing party.
Then came the American, or Know
Nothing, party, with its principle of hos
tility to naturalized citizens and of strong
preference for native-born. 1t lasted but
few years, when it was swept out ofexistence
by the Republican party, organized to re-
sist the introduction of slavery into the
Territories.
In 1860, besides the two rival candidates
of the Democrats, Messrs. Douglas and
Breckenridge, and the Republican candi-
date, Mr.. Lincoln, there was a fourth cam
didate, Mr.. Bell, of the Constitutional
Union party. The war broke out soon
after Mr.. Lincoln took office destroyed the
party, both in in the North and in the
South.
Since the war closed there have been
numerous third" parties. In 1872 there
was small body of Democrats who would
not support Mr.. Greeley, and who voted
for Charles 0'Conor. Later came the
Greenback. the Prohibition and the Labor
parties, which are all in the field this
year.
The Greenback party had its origin soon
aften the great financial panic oI 1873, and
increased in numbers during the long per-
iod of depression until, in the years be-
tween 1876 and 1880, by combination with
one or the other of the great parties, it
a few eases Governors of States. In the
election of 1880, it cast more than three
hundred thousand votes in the country.
Labor has been more or less organized in
certain of the more populous nanufac-
turing States for some years, but it has
usually confined its political efforts to
the choice of members of the State Leg
islatures Its organization has now taken
the form of a protest against ''monopol
les"
Prohibition of liquor-selling has been
more or less a political issue for thirty
wears. but it is much less than half that
time since party was organized to pro-
mote the cause As in the case of the
Labor party, only small proportion of
Prohibitionists leave the great party to
which they have respectively belonged to
join this These three outside organize
tons may, all together, exercise an impor-
tant influence upon the result in November.
Youths Companion.