The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1920-02-14
POLITICAL PARTIES:
Is THEIR DAY OyERl

Inc Democrauc party mas uleu a
number of times and the obituary OF
the Republican party has been writ
have managed TO convince themselves
in days gone by that the day of this
or that political party. or of all politi-
cal parties, was over. A learned east
ern university professor brought out
in 1913 a political history of the
United States from the TiIden-Hayes
campaign TO the dissolution of the Re
publican party" The Saturday Even
ing Post in very recent years has
wept torrents of more or less regret
full tears at the bier of the Republi-
can party, and is at it again. Yet the
Republican party elected a majority
in the national house and senate in
1918, despite its demise.
Just now, the favorite newspaper
and magazine bromide is the impend-
ing dissolution of political parties.
No longer, we are told, do party shib-
boleths, party traditions, party poll
cies, appeal to the masses of the peo-
pie of whom these authors are the
self constituted spokesman. People
are getting to be too broad to belong
TO political parties anyway. The
Saturday Evening Post says so, ano
the n~on-partisan New York World is
sure OF it, while that distinguished
publicist, Hen Ford, argues in able
editorials prepared by his press agent,
that there is AN alarming aloofness
from partisan political authority"
it's a good thing Henry will not have
to define alarming %aloofness" to d
Michigan jury. Curiously enough,
and perhaps significantly enough,
Democratic National Chairman Homer
Cummings joins in the chorus Will
the statement that "the old party slo-
gans have lost their appeal, meaning
perhaps that acknowledgement
1916 campaign slogan: HE kept us
out of war"
1t is certain that the people are
very weary of the kind of partisan
ship which all these influences helped
put over on the American people,
namely the partisanship of the pres
n national administration; a partl-
sanship not broad enough to epre-
sent a political organization or a
cause, but only an individual faction
alism OF the sort these publicists
would substitute for political organi-
cation ~partisanship. Their partisan
ship is OF a kind which would throw
political parties on the dump and thus
destroy h only practical means Oh
responsible government in a republic.
You can't blame Democratic politi-
clans and publicity agents for claim
ing that the day OF political parties is
party is probably over, principally be-
aus it has ceased to be a political
party, and. abandoning every princi-
pie for which it ever stood, every
promise it eve made, and every policy
it eve proposed, has become the mere
personal baggage of one powerful
politician.
1t must be admitted that during the
past few years about everything has
been lone that could be lone to kill
the political party system in the
United States. Laws have been passed
deliberately intended by those whu
framed them TO break down political
party organization, party solidarity
party authority and party respons :
bility. The object has been to de-
stroy the major political o~rganiza-
lions, while only such radical organi-
cations as the socialists, with their
close corporation, Gues-paying ard
pledge-bound membership, have been
able to maintain party organization
or party discipline IN the old Ems
The truth is. tha. far from having
lost faith in party ORGANIZATIONS, the
people have lost faith in mers indiyi
duals; mere indIyl lufls who boast oi
their ability to do il all alone, etc
lift the veil, remove the pressure and
reveal all" as the Immortal j. N. usec
to say. They have experienced some
of these do-it-all and know-it-all poll
ticians who claim to be bigger thar
any political party, and realize tina
they promise a lot more than they de.
liver; in fact that their performances
are in just about the inverse ratio
to their promises. The people o.
America are like the founders of the
republic in this. that they have more
faith in men than in any man
What the country needs most of al
right now is a revival of politica
parties true to the name; partie.
which are not the tools of either