The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-09-03
OUR 0NE-PARLY SYSTEM.
Reasons for Belief In Continuing As
tendency of Republican Rule.

Reasons for Belief In Continuing As
tendency of Republican Rule.
From the Springfield Republican
over forty years have passed since the
civil war. and such is the condition Of the
national Democratic party that one has
no difficulty IN finding reasons for the be-
lief that the country is settling into a
much longer period OF one-party govern
meHt than our most discerning and I'M
biased statesmen ever dreamed TO be pos
sible. Perhaps the chief reason for this
is that the race question does not grow
less acute However that question may
change in form. it must retain its serious
ness for an indefinite time. This means
a solid South projected far into the fu-
ture. 1t threatens to retain its political
cohesion and form distinct political
group in our system to protect what it
considers a paramount local interest. And
in this It viii not be unlike those Euro
pean parties whose basis is a nationafiStic
aspiration, like the Magyars in Hungary,
the Czechs In Austria, and the Irish in
the United Kingdom. or those which. like
the powerful Centrists Of Germany cOhere
in order to protect and promote their re-
ligion. Under the pure parliamentary
government. wherein the real executive
emanates directly from the legislature, as
in Great Britain and France, the tendency
Of our parties probably would be to dis
solve into groups that would combine for
specific purposes under special conditions
as they might arise, but our Presidential
system and method Of electing Presidents
appears to check such a tendency. the re-
suit being two great parties in name with
an actual government by one party alone
for an indefinite period.
Evidently we are in the midst of such
a period. Few seem TO anticipate the
election Of Mr.. Bryan next year, yet few
appear TO believe that any other Demo-
erat could enter a campaign. on the
whole with better prospects. The Wash
lngton Herald an intelligent journal Of
Bryan sympathies at the National Capt.
tai expresses the belief that while Mr.
Bryan will receive and is entitled 10 re-
ceive the Democratic nomination. he prob
ably will not be elected President This
viii be due directly 70 the fact that while
he could not unite the radicalism Of both
parties in his support he would be ham,
strung by the conservative wing Of his
own. Republican radicals arc much less
likely 10 vote for a Democratic radical
than Northern Democratic radicals are
for a Republican radical, because the Re
publican radicals dread the influence Of
the solid South in the Democratic party.
In practice the country has already
! been adjusting itself TO the one-party sys-
TEN. The experience of the past ten years
tends to show that the Republican party,
as the result Of its capture now by the
conservatives and now by the radicals.
can be made to do much OF the work that
normally would be divided between two
parties. Under Mr.. Mckinley we had
conservatism enthroned; under Mr.
Roosevelt We have radlcalism enthroned.
The simple. ineontestable truth is that
under Mr.. Roosevelt the Republican party
has become an agent for carrying out
some Of the most desirable and essential
ideas embodied in Organism. but which
the country could not seem &c get ma
terialiZed through the Democratic party
without paying too high a price. If we
regard the capture OF the Republican
party by radicalism and the ensuing de-
velopment Of the later Ee,csevelt policies
as fundamentally an irresistible organic
movement Of the American people, pecu-
liar to the party conditions Of the period,
VIC shall be able to interpret much that
has seemed shrouded in mystery. The
people have adapted themselves to condi-
tons They have. perhaps unconSciously.
appreciated the fact that the two-party
system has failed satisfactorily to serve
them in recent times and have deter
mined IN mako ti1a dnnaiuarf Marty r-ov
ern IN accordance with their win.