The Washington herald., 1914-11-17
The Decline Of RadicaIism.

The one phrase that expresses more clearly ana
fully than any other the meaning Of the elections
held two weeks ago is that they testified to great
decline in radicalism. Everywhere throughout the
country radical propositions of every and ma
ure were either overwhelmed with defeat or plainly
confronted rising tide of popular resentment The
most suggestive single event was of course the re-
peal of the railroad "u crew bill" at the referendum
vote in Missouri The people of this State, which has
been as hostile to railroad interests any in the
United States have obviously made up their minds
that the railroads have stood about much whack-
ing as they ought to stand. Their sense of justice
has been appealed to, and the appeal has not been
made in vain.
The most important general outcome of the cleo
ton was as we have already said the practical ob
Grafton of the Progressive party. In the East the
Progressive party poed in most States, smaller
vote than did the Prohibition candidates. In the
West the party displayed greater voting strength but
still barely enough to constitute skeleton organiza-
tion of anything deserving the name of political
unit
A long time since Walter Bagehot, the great Eng
Iish economist and essayst declared that the political
and social salvation of England lay in the stupidity of
the lower classes; as long as Hodge thickheaded
and -witted welded to conservative ideals and
averse to change England was safe. Our own coun-
try has been animated by different spirit. The
American people are the reverse of thckheaded and
slow of moving They not nconstant and 'mer-
cural but one of their most striking characteristics
is love of discussion and of experimentation with
new things They do not love to change for the
sake OF change, but they like to try programs
and see how these work If they do not work, they
are quickly abandoned and that is end of them
for generation at least
This love of political experimentation assumes the
form at times of definite craze and the country is
often seized with a spirit of seeming radicalism which
not infrequenty takes ten or a dozen years to run
its course When it does run itself out the idea
passes into the category of old. forgotten far-off
things, and fancies long ago. While the period of
innovation lasts. business and financial interests
become indignant and disgusted, and large portion
of the community seized with fright. No doubt
a good deal OF harm is done to business and great
deal of money is lost because of such ebullitions of
popular temperament But the way to look at them
is that they the price pay for liberty and
that the country is seriously fundamentally
in danger. however alarming appearances may be-
The late John Bigelow, of New York. said to
younger friend who asked him, couple OF years be-
fore his death, whether the condition of politics did
not lead him the conclusion that the experiment Of
democratic in the United States had been
proved failure: q nnety-one years old and
in the course of my life there have been four diff
ferent occasions when have despaired of the future
OF my country Each time it looked as though the
people of the country about to jump a
precipice But they always halted before they took
the final misstep, and it found when all the
tumult had subsidized that their hearts were sound
and that patriotism and conservatism their
guiding principles"
Another reason for the decline of radicalsm and
the fall OF the Progressive party has been that a
great deal of the part OF the radical and Pro-
gressite platforms has already been turned into fact
Extreme forms of interocng directorates have been
abolished Workingmen's compensation bills have
been passed nearly all States The only things that
the radicals have left shout for vague aspira
lions after the general good, which longer provoke
because they not excellent, but
because in order to command support they must be |
transformed into concrete suggestion and action.
Nor have hard times been without their lesson. They
:ave served their purpose, they always do, of a
needed cold bath.