The Alaska citizen., 1912-09-23

l'-lf r~.Nt party iJS |tfb IdtttlOuS- Iv designated out of compliment 10 certain personal qualifications pos scszrd by Mir. Roosevelt. has a some what rock road to travel Not alone IS il called upon 10 buck the estsb- lished examinations of the Demo rrats and Republicans, but if must also face well-defined antagonism against third parties" Maybe an tagoulsm is loo strong word-per haps it k better to say that the American voter. as whole. has never taken very kindly to third parties" and that the histories of them Is no. rhicfly starred with success.
 For a hundred years. ever since the establishment of the govern meut. in fact. the people have been taught 10 think along two party" lines an administration party and party in opposition. This makes il difficult for a third party" to get fair consideration and has usual lv resulted in failure The Repub- lican organization, to he accurate. is the only third party movement that eyer succeeded in winning out, To he sure Mir Roosevelt has genius for accomplishing the unusual. and some et the most dynamic personal ities in the country have given al loeianee to his remarkable platform, but history, al least. is against his triumph in November.
 The Quids vas the name of the first third party in American poli- ties Made up of disaffected Ief- fersouiaus. and led by the fiery and cratic Randolph the Quids broke away from their party and from lief, ierson on the ground that he had violated republican principles by his purchase of Louisiana They also insisted that the immortal Thomas governed congress by backs airs methods and that his policy in at tempting 10 secure West Florida from Spain was most deeeitful"
 The Quds came into full bloom as a third party in 1SoS when they at tempted to elect Monroe over Madi- son But Jefferson. by this time, had gained such hold over the minds and admiration of the people that the Quids-with no other req son for existence than hatred for Jefferson were wiped off the earth in that election. and soon faded from public view
 The Blue Light Federalists" burst into national politics as an express sion of a very deep-seated antagon- ism to the war of 1912. In April. 1S12. congress authorized the presi- dent to call on the various governors to organiZc their state militia for immediate service. The Federalists in congress straightway issued an address branding the war as needless and unNise and the legislature of Massachusetts followed with a vote to the effect that the war was q "wanton sacrifice of the interests of New England" Said this warn ing: Let the sound of your disap- probation of this war be loud and deep, If your sons be torn away from you by conscription, consign them To the care of God, but let there be no volunteers except for defensive war"
 Practically all New England, led by Massachusetts and Connecticut. opposed the war. and did everything possible to hamper the government and defeat American troops Commo- dore Decatur asserted that he was prevented from getting his ships to sea from New London. then block aded by the British. by blue light signals which gave the enemy warn ii'S 'I IAA9 iliO lIl'iiNo' iit diiii' war Federalists were accused of this treachery, and thus received the name Blue Light Federalists"
 This third party. for it was that, in effect, gained some measure of power in New England, New Jersey and New York. but when the war closed in a roar of victory, the Blue Light Federalists" sank from sight like a stone in deep water
 The Quids and Blue Lights, how ever, were more in the nature of factions than anything else, and it remained for the anti-Masonic group in 1928 to form the first definite Third Party. A Mason, William Morgan, by name, living in Batavia N. Y., had prepared a book in which he promised to reveal all the secrets of the Masonic order. He was kid naped, or, at least, he disappeared shortly before the books publica tion, and was never heard from again. He was traced to Fort Mag ara, and was supposed to have been drowned in Lake Ontario.
 A violent anti-Masonic agitation sprang up, and in 1880 boiled 12S, GOO votes in New York state. Il was through this party that Seward