The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1910-04-22
PARTIES AND ELECTIONS IN U.S..
The Evils of BIindly and Slavishly Voting
the Party Tioket-Time Ripe
for a Change

ties in the United States. If those who
make the assertion mean that we have
government by parties in the sense in
which the term party is used in the
affairs of every other constitutionally
governed country in the world, the
statement is an altogether erroneous
one, or a misleading one. In the
United States, as in all other countries,
we have, in the main, two great parties
what are usually termed the Liberals
and the Conservatives. The former
represents the cause of democracy and
the reforms demanded by the masses.
The other represents what are usually
termed the privileged classes, advocat-
ing the strictest possible adherence to
the good old ways and backed up
by precedent and prejudice against
change. These may be termed the
two main bodies of the people, with
many varying groups, from the ex-
treme radicals led by Debs to the ultra
reactionaries such as Chancellor Day.
Yet in the United States we have no
party organizations for these two great
parties above mentioned. 1t is true
that we have political organizations, but
they are not party organizations in the
sense of that term as used in other
countries. In the United States the
party organization is in itself the end
OF the organization. The whole ma
chinery is devised, not to bring about
the triumph of any fixed principles Of
government, but the triumph. of the
organization, which means the placing
Of certain set Of men in power. The
party leaders, it is true, have certain
set of avowed principles which they
call the platform, but the platform
is confessedly a means of helping the
organization, and is as changeable as
styles in millinery. American political
parties have been known in the past to
swap platforms. There is nothing in
this country to take the place Of the
term Liberal party" or Conservative
party as used in England and other
countries. When an American says
that he is a conservative no one would
know from that whether he was a sup
porter of the Republican or Democratic
party. In England, Alton B. Parker
and Senator Aldrich would be ranked
as conservatives and Senator LaFollette
and William Jennings Bryan would be
classed as liberals.
It is quite true that the two great
parties of the United States, without
any acknowledged organization, are not
altogether without the means Of assert
ing themselves. We have various
clubs and reform associations that carry
on an agitation and endeayor by pres
sure Of public sentiment to commit the
two great organizations to platform
pledges. Thus, in the south, temper
ance societies have convinced the
Democratic leaders that it would help
their organization to declare for state
prohibition. In some OF the northern
states the Republican machine consid-
cred that it would be good politics to
do the same thing. It is in place here
to note that really vital questions are
seldom taken up by either OF the two
great political organizations until they
cannot help it. They are both as
much afraid OF such questions as pro-
hibition, direct legislation, tax reform,
and many other popular demands as
though they were live wires. 1t is also
true that more effective use is made Of
the party machines BY the conservative
forces than by the liberals or proges-
sives. The reactionaries are much
better organized and much more often
successful in getting complete control
of the machinery Of the dominant or
ganization in both state and nation.
I doubt whether it is possible, under
our present system of elections, to
make our party organizations synony-
nous with party principles. A party
may be organized today, headed in a
certain direction. In a short time it
may be headed about in the very oppo-
site direction. The Democratic party