The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-07-10

Big Parties Wings of
Same Bird Of Prey, is
Third Party Keynote

Third Pl
Chicago, July 10.-The Repub-
iican and Democratic parties were
denounced a. ''the right and left
wing Of the same bird OF prey e
the opening Of q proposed third
party national convention here to-
day.
Sounding the keynote Of the A.
semblage called together by the
Committee OF 4S to adopt . plat
form and place In the field another
set OF candidates for presidency
and vice presidency. Allen Nc
Curdy, temporary chairman, charg-
ed that the two big parties had
evaded paramount domestic issues
at . time when what the country
needs is fewer laws and more
freedom"
The abolition of special privil-
ege. Mr.. McCurdy said, was the is
sue around which the new party
would appeal to the voters in No
vember. He said the party pur-
posed e6ecting that end through
removing the sources from which
privilege derives its power.
To accomplish this purpose" he
declared, 1T proposes public own
ership OF transportation and Of the
principal basic resources Of the
country and declares that all land
held out Of use for speculation
should be forced into use by taxa
ton.
~Both Of Same Bird
Consider the actual conditions
under which We meet. After years
OF secret slavery the Republican
party and the Democratic party
come into the open and reveal
themselves to themselves and to
the nation as nothing but the right
and left wing Of the same bird Of
prey. 1t is no longer possible for
any one even to pretend that there
Is any difference on any issue be-
tween them. There is not a word
in either Of their platforms that
might not have been written and
unanimously endorsed by conven-
tion exclusively composed Of cor
poration lawyers and Wall street
bankers. The only difference be-
tween these platforms. as some one
has remarked, is q difference In the
number Of words used to say moth
ing. Confronted by the grayest
crisis in the history Of civilization.
they have demonstrated. even to
their, own adherents, that they are
without the. vision Of statesman
ship. the courage Of Leadership or
the conviction of patriotism.
THE. republican bid Is bold. IT
reads out Of its councils every man
and woman who ever stood for any
form Of human rights; adopts q
platform that evades, equivocates
or straddles every living issue;
paves the way for war by which,
in exchange for the lives and
treasure of the people, Mexican oil
shall be delivered to the interests;
endorses the infamous Esch-C Cum
minis bill over the protests of farm
ers, workers and informed citi-
zens; and consistently crowns its
work by nominating as candidate
for the presidency Of the United
States in the year 1920, q proven,
steady, wheel-horse politician guar
anteed to stand without hitching,
who learned all the politics he ever
learned in the satisfactory and
thorough school Of Marcus A. Han
ma and Joseph B. Foraker, way
back In the golden age marked by
the Standard Oil scandals. Thus
stands the party of Abraham Lin
coin in the last days of its decad-
ent faithfulness, naked and un-
ashamed in its servile service of .
greedy pultocracy.
~Demo Bid Braxen."
"The Democratic bid Is more
than bold; ;.sit is braxen. With mild
it not only claims q
partisan credit, which belongs to
the whole nation, for fighting and
winning the war but it declares
that it administered the conduct Of
that war without. the faint of scam
dal! And the ghosts Of Hog Island,
and aircraft, and shipbuilding and
constructions. and nj
trate plant appropriations are still
through the land! Scan
dal! Is 1t no scandal that In the
year 1917, the year of supreme sac
rifice when our boys were fghting
and dying for $50 = month. and our
people were economising and sac
rificin1 To hny Liberty honda. that