The Washington times., 1912-08-04
GROWTH OF THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY

Nothing has been so surprising, to politicians OF
all affiliations and factions, the discovery that the
first convention Of the progressive party, now gath
erns in Chicago, is really going to be the biggest
political gathering Of the year. Biggest in point Of
actual delegates in attendance, and vastly the most
significant in respect Of the enthusiasm and deter
mination of these same delegates.
Instead of sde-show, it turns out that deega-
tions have been made up with fractional votes in
order to provide opportunity for reasonable repre-
sentaton of the men anxious to be identified with the
movement. The spectacle of Connecticuts State
progressive convention, sending six or seven times
many delegates as the call apportioned to it, and
dividing ito votes among them, is surely suggestive.
That same thing has been done by majority Of the
States in which there is real Republican party.
These are the States in which the new movement is
strong and in which it is now recognized as the real
party Of the future.
very little while ago it was popularity supposed
that the movement had an interesting strength
in the socaed progressive States of the West Then
the fact burst upon public recognition, that Pennsyl-
vania, chief Of industrial States, second Of all in
electoral strength the possessor of the greatest Re-
publican majority in the Union, was just as deter
minedly progressive as Kansas or California. The
movement has swept across the Alleghanies.
Now comes the still more significant development
revelations of the degradation to which boss-owned
and machine-rm politics have brought them as midi
Gated by the Rosentha revelations is arousing itself
to upturning that promises to overmatch the revo
lition recently achieved in California There is but
one direction in which this revolution can sweer
New York: the direction Of the progressive party
movement
Never was there time when everything seemed
working for one great end, as this political year
Without New York, they said few weeks ago, ma
tonal success for the progressive party was not tc
be numbered amons the possibilities; and New York
the conservatives thought was utterly unattainable
Today New York is ripe for revolt against everything
with the SAVIOR of old machines, old methods, ole
scandalous procedure taintng it. New York ha
had its lesson brought close home 1t has looked
into the cold, murderous eye of the beast; it ha
been forced to ask itself whether the system has lef
anything uncorrupted, has permitted anything tt
escape its blighting touch New York, in short, il
suddenly rising up as from political Rip Van Wrinkle
Sleep discovering the very things that the real pro
gressive communities have been taking on for year
past, and demanding them for her own protection
against the beast.
The progressive party is the moving, leading, in
spring force in the nation today. 1t is advancing a
no other movement ever advanced in America
politics. The Republican party captured the lowe
house of Congress two years after it was founded
the progressive party gives every promise Of captur
ing tine nation in the very year of its organization.
1t is accomplishing this political miracle, becaus
it was needed because there was no other instrumer
to do what the people wanted, and because it ha
entered into a contract with the public to do whs
the public demands shall be done.