The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-02-10
THIRD PARTY
TALK LACKS
FACT BASIS
Borah, Farm Bloc Not to Join
Forces-Agriculturists Will
Fight for Ends Through Old
Parties.
.RUMORS ARE DECRIED
ny MARK SULLIVAN

way into print pictures the Repub /
licans as disturbed about movements |
TO organize third party this year.
These isn't anything to that.
The Republican party has world !
of troubles and they tend to grow
greatly, but third party is not among
them
The Republicans are going to have a
hard time this fall and they realize it
more and more every day. But If the
Republicans are beaten in the House
elections this year it will be the Dem
(locratic party that does it.
In fact If you were a very suspici-
GUS person, and If you felt that all
politics are not exactly what they ap-
pear on the surface you might won
der whether the Republicans were
stimulating this talk of a third party
u would certainly be to their ad
rantage This year, as between the
Republicans and the Democrats, it
would be the Democrats that will get
al the votes of protest and discomfort
third party would merely divide
his protest vote. and would be an ad-
mirable institution from the Republi-
can point of view. If the Republicans
weren't still some three-quarters of a
million dollars IN debt for the last
campaign, and if the Republican party
managers were very smart and Just a
lttle INSCRIPTIONS, they might endow
a third party.
Could Be Used.
There have been party managers in
the past who would see that oppor-
tunity and go to it. 1t would be the
most direct way to avert whatevCr
adverse fate may be in store for the
Republicans this year.
Much of this talk links the sug-
eested third party with the farm bloc.
That sort of talk is particularly i'll
informed. The farm bloc is not a
third party. does not want to be one,
and would regard a third party move
ment as the most serious menace to
its purposes.
The thing that wrecked most of the
old farm movements was their dis
position to be a political party all by
itself. The farm bloc is carefully
/ bloc in congress is intimately tied up
with the American Farm Bureau fed
Grafton, and this latter organization
has it among the foundation stones
of its policy to act through the two
old parties and to discountenance any
third party movement.
Kenyon Won't Be Missed.
The farm bloc incidentally will not
be weakened by resignation of Senator
Kenyon. Kenyon was not the leader
of the farm bloc in the commonly ac-
cepted sense of what political leader
IS
The farm bloc didn't in the least de
pend on his personality in the sense
that the old Progressive party depend
ed on the personality of Roosevelt.
Kenyon was merely the spokesman
of the farm bloc on several occasions
and used 10 preside at its meetings.
The farm bloc won't be any weaker
with Kenyon out, except to the extent
of one vote. And if the successor
TO be appointed in Kenyon's place re-
fleets what seems to be the prevailing
political sentiment of Iowa, presuEl
ably he will vote with the farm bloc
as often as Kenyon did. The Ameri
can Farm Bureau federation has g
lliluiCu anu ~ NhOtA'sAN
in Iowa.
Mention Borah
One variation of these printed ru
mors mentions Borah as the possible
presidential nominee of third party
That is the most erotesque suggestion
of all. Borah isn't third party man
Borah is a party all himself. He is
an institution outside of all parties
Borah won't join any third-party move
- ment If he had that kind of inclina
Y tion he would have joined the Progress
sives in 1912.
In fact. a good many of the old Pro
sressives felt at that time, and still
feel, that Borah's capacity for resisting
any temptation TO get formally out
side the Republican party was just ;
little excessive.
Borah goes his own gait and doe!
about what he pleases on all occasions
but his power and position are indiyid
ual wholly, and he isn't going to com
promise it by merging with any or
ganized forlorn hopes.
Farmer-labor Talk
Still another variation of these print
ed rumors pictures the farmers and tn
laborers uniting in third party. Tha
has been pesistent dream of SOM
radicals for several years past. Th
chief basis of it is in the brains o
ambitious theorist. who look up tn
occupation statistics in the census re
ports and figure out that combine
tion of those who are farmers wit
those who are laborers would make
very strong party. And so ii would o.
paper But every person with any pc
litical sense knows you can't unit
labor and the farmers in one party
Their fundamental economic interest
are too different.
In the recent farm congress, whic
took in a wide variety of interests ou
side of agriculture. the only troubl
arose with Gompers. The farmers &c
along all right with the bankers an
the packers and the railroads and tn
& college professors and the agriculture
implement makers. But when some
? thing was said to the effect that raj
road wages ought to come down, Con
pers went up in the air. No, ther
won't ever be any effective third part
made up of farmers and laborers.