Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1912-06-25
A NEW PARTY WAS NEEDED.


Welt simply took advantage of a spir-
it that existed and became merely an
instrument in shaping it into a new
party movement.
There can be no question that a new
party is needed, whether it remain
minority party, third in point of num-
bers, for some years to come or
Immediately assumes the position of
second in voting strength. The dis
cordant elements in both the old
Parties could not much longer be re-
tanned in the old organizations. There
is too wide a gulf between Republic
cans of the LaFollette type and those
of the type of Penrose and Root for
EN- to continue indefinitely in har-
ness. In the Democratic party the
line of divergence is not so pro-
nouced, but it must be apparent to all
that there are many extreme radicals
within its ranks who would feel far
more at ease in a party that more ac-
curately represented their views and
sought to give practical effect to them
through political organizations and
legislative enactment.
J The spread of socialism may in a
measure be attributed to this very alb
sence of a third party. Men dissent
ing from policies and measures of the
cid parties have chafed under the in
bility to give proper expression 70
their sentiments through political or
ganization and have drifted into the
ranks of the socialist party as the
only medium open to them to give
voice to their opposition to prevailing
unjust conditions in this country. A
third party lead by the more extreme
of the progressives, will probably ma
terially reduce the voting strength Of
the socialists. 1t will be extreme
enough to absorb the moderate social
SITS, and it will draw to itself a great
humber who have been, perhaps UNI
consciously, tending away from the.
old parties and into the socialist party.
The great trouble in this country
has been that party names have been
made fetiches to worship, Men have
been held in party chains. Naturally
the astute politicians controlling these
organizations have played upon this
sentiment of party fealty, have utilized
it to their own selfish and profitable
advantage, until they have brought the
rarty names and organizations into
disrepute with a mass Of citizens
and largely destroyed by recognition
that the machinery of both parties has
teen seized and utilized for the benefit
of individual bosses and special in
teY ests rather than for the good of the
nation as a Whole. The Republican
convention was in itself a beautifully
convincing picture of what party md
chinery can be made to do when con-
trolled by INSCRIPTIONS politicians. 1t
lis fortunate indeed, for the country
that party names have lost their dom
mating power over the people Char
acter and principles are coming more
into vogue in politics and the polite
ians who imagine they can use the
Ishibboleth of the old party names to
retain their victims control are apt to
speedily find that the words "Republi
can" and Democrat" have lost then
power to charm many hundreds Of
thousands, even millions, of voters.
1t is one of the great misfortunes of
the South that the enfranchisement Of
the negroes has acted as such ire
mendOus barrier to the free express
sion of the recall convictions of its in
telligent white citizens and their
alignment according to their economic
views AS it is, we find in the ranks
of the Democratic party in this section
to-day men who are in heart anything
but Democrats, and other men, too.
who do not agree with either of the
old parties. They are discontinued,
but their environment holds them
gripped as in chains of steel. The
white men of the North and West have
great advantage over the white
men of the South in the freedom Of
political action they enjoy A new
party may make rapid growth in those
sections, but in the South, even witt
the state disfranchisement laws, it car
hardly hone to make much progress
even though many thousands of Whit
voters in this section may really be
in sympathy with its purposes.
Bryan seems to have been infecte"
with the Roosevelt spirit by his at |
tendance at Chicago and sent out the |
IA.