New-York tribune., 1922-10-19
New Parties for Old?

PRESIDENT buttef gave voice w 81
widely felt and largely justifable
impatience with the old parties in
his speech before the Institute OF
Arts and Sciences. 1t is an impa-
tience that The Tribune shares and
has frequently expressed with re-
spect to much political leadership,
Republican as well as Democratic.
But does DIR. Butler point the way
to any betterment?
The proposal Of DR.. Butler is that
a Democratic-Republican party be
formed out of the liberal and con-
servative elements of the two par.
ties. AS an inevitable consequence
there would be formed radical
party. Thus, he argues, would come
about ian honest and sincere divi-
sion of political forces" In effect
the proposal is to introduce the Eu-
ropean and English systems into
America. On the Continent there
are numerous groups arranged ac-
cording to their degree of radicalism
or conservatism and running all the
way from the extreme left to the ex-
treme right. A government repre-
sents no one party, but bloc COM
posed of several groups. In Eng
land tie two-party system has pre-
vailed until recent times, divided
along the lines of liberalism and
conservatism. With the rise of the
Labor party. three groups have re-
suited that might very roughly be
tagged radical, liberal and conser-
vative.
There are no left and right in our
American Congress. There are rad
icals in both parties--Senator La
Toilette in the Republican and
Hearst in the Democratic, for exam
pie. There are, equally, conserva-
tives in both parties. The cleavage,
in short, is not along the line Of
radicalism or conservatism. AS a
result the radicals have never sue
ceeded for any length of time-any
more than the conservatives have
ever been able to control steadily.
The country steers a safe course be-
tween extremes.
Perhaps it is true that sheer logic
is with the European system. 1t is
the most rational way to arrange
human beings in parties. But logic
is not all there is to government,
especially democratic government.
If the American mind has any con-
spicuous quality all it's own it is a
sort of middle-of -the-road COM
mon sense that refuses to plunge
hell-bent for anything. Is it not
possible that our American sys-
tenn rests upon peculiar quality of
the American mind? In very real
: sense there is no extreme left and
extreme right in the mass of Ameri-
can voters. That is the essentia,
reason why it has never been pos
sible to form a radical or labor part,
in America. That may very we'll b,
the reason why the country has al
ways steered cleaq of division a
between liberals and conservatives
Most of us live by mixture Of bot
principles.
1t would be easy to brush DR.. But
ler's idea aside on the high groun
that it Is utterly unthinkabie. Blu
to do so would ignore the underlyin
facts. The Tribune is as impatier
with much leadership of the Reput
lican party as anybody. But it
convinced that it does represent
very real slant of mind, neither rad
cal nor conservative, but lying some
where in that middle-of-the-road re
gion Of idealistic horse sense c
which President Lincoln was tn
typical embodiment. It's point {
view is not nearly so difficult to d,
fine as some hasty critics suppos
"A truly protective tariff and far-se,
ing ship subsidy plan are among il
typical issues Of the moment, for e,
ample. So is any legislation whic
upholds the authority of the centr;
government against those who woul
break it down. The party was Dor
Uf the greatest assertion of nation,
authority the country has seen, ar
1t has never forgotten its parentae
1t was the Democratic party thu
yielded to union leaders in tn
Adamson act, and it is the Repul
Ecan party that must repair ths
damage has already gone far to n
pair 1t. There is confusion Of issue
yes. There would be that even wer
there a dozen groups Of every tir
pf radicalism and conservatism. Bu
there is an underlying distinctio
which In the long rs1ii still prevails.
What The Tribune conceives to b
the need OF the houg is not q nev