The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-28

If political parties were as easily
built as railroad, we would
have more of them to COM
plicate the schemes of the po-
liticalIy ambitious and confuse the
factors in the really simple problem
of government. But when it is assum-
ed that it is the legitimate province of
government to take care of every one,
going beyond the limit of letting every
one take care of himself and seeing
that he does not disturb the rightful
exercise of a similar right by his fell
lows, then, out of the wrongs caused
come an infinite number of schemes
for either redressing and suppressing
the wrongs or for making use of gov
ernmental power to tal4 better and
ever better care of us poor mortals. So
we have had a procession of new par
ties and projects for them come into
being, gain more or less, and usually
less virility, making sometimes some
impress on existing parties, rarely
establishing themselves for a time, and
crowded off the stage by some other
importunate candidate for popular
favor.
So we read the dispatch from st.
Louis of the formation of another new
party with the ambitious title Of Amer
lean, with it's proposed extensions of
the administration of government
without surprise, and pause to specu-
late upon its chances, cast it's horo-
scope and compute the period of it's
existence; certain that, whatever meas
ure of success it may achieve, it's life
is limited by the very conditions of it's
birth And these conditions are not
without assurance for the confidence
of the forty-odd delegates who gath
cred from nine states and one territory
to officiate as accouchers for the latest
arrival in the political family. We have
gone through the list of measures this
infant hopes to see live and grow to
their accomplishment, and find them
sufficiently all-embracing to absorb all
that variegated assortment of notions
socialistic that are at present resting on
the platforms of the Republican, the
Populist, the Prohibition, the Woman's
Suffrage and all and sundry other par
ties. We believe that none of the
older schemes for utilizing the benevo-
lent interposition of government in the
affairs of men has escaped these con-
structors, and some new ones are add
ed Protection, gray-haired and wrin-
killed., is there side by side with it's
grandson, the naturalization of all
public conveniences and utilities by
the government, national, state. coun-
ty and municipal;' while clustered
about the veteran is a host of his viva
cious and obstreperous descendants
We repeat that there is that in the
present conditions of politics that war
rants the expectation that this infant
may attain a respectable size and c1,t
something of a figure in the opening
years of the coming century. There is
a decided trend here towards govern
mental regulation. Ossification has SET
in upon the Republican party. One
element in it believes it has gone too
far, and another that it has not gone
far enough in state socialism. Of this
latter there have been numbers suf-
ficiently earnest to develop an offshoot
that has taken shape in Populism. This
Is now suffering the pangs of dissolu-
ton following it's mesaIliance last wear
with that ancient foe of all socialism
Democracy. In and Of it were num-
bers of Democrats who, despairing of
the success of their own party went
Into Populism dreaming that it might
be used as a cudgel to knock ont the
Republicans. In the disintegration now
In progress these will lapse into their
old faith. With them will come. when
Democracy wakes courageous enough
to be Democratic, those Republicans
who believe their party has gone too
far into socialism. Dlscredited by its
attempted amalgamation, Populism
will become an unpopular title with the
Observation-Disclosures Any flower will