The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1922-02-17
in with our strength and help to stabiI-

ize the world.
That there is something in this
change of mood on the part of the
public is undeniable. Still, if you ask
the Democratic leaders whether they
would be willing to revive the league
of nations as an issue this year, and
go to the country on it, they admit
that the words league of nations"
still have a dubious sound for the
purposes of practical politics But they
say that il approximately the same
thing could be presented to the pub
lie under another passion that were
stirred up in the 1920 campaign, the
public would take kindly to 1t.
G. o. p. May Adopt Idea
In fact, the Democratic leaders
say the Republicans are getting ready
to do just that thing. They say the
Republicans would like to adopt a
variation of this Democratic idea. and
will do so if they can invent some
acceptable name for it, like the Afro
European Turnverlin," or any other
combination that will appeal affirma-
lively to the prejudices of foreign
born voters with as much success as
the prejudices of the foreign-born
were enlisted against the league of
nations by the Republicans in 1920
The net of so much of this talk
as is serious is that national pros
perity is going to be an issue in the
elections this year. that national pros
perity is going to be tied up with
the restoration of foreign trade, and
the restoration of foreign trade is go
ing to be tied up with the idea of
some sort of increased participation
in the affairs of the world. This, as
we'll as the other issues of the COM
ing elections, is only just developing.
1t looks now as if the bonus bill might
provide an issue. The Republicans
have made up their minds to placate
that there is a surprising amount of
opposition to this measure. For the
the soldiers-or at least some of the
soldiers-with one sort of bonus bill
Republicans it is easy enough TO write
a bonus bill and write it in good big
figures; but when they face the dis
a Oronoh1n nnnnccitrv IF rNrnx-iAino no
money for it, that means more tax :
ton, and more taxation means political
trouble
Tariff a Republican Handicap
One of the other issues of the year
is also just in the making. That is
the tariff The only justification the
Republican, can have for whatever
tariff bill they decide to write is ma
tional prosperity; and few dream
that national prosperity on any large
scale will come to us. either as re-
suit of the tariff or anything else,
soon enough to help the Republicans
very much at elections which will be
held next November
In current discussions of this po-
litical year it is frequently said that
farm bloc will be a source bloc is an
asset to the Republicans, however i'm
patiently Harding may snap his
thumbs at it. The farm bloc mem
bers of the Republican party will be
almost universally reelected in the
districts in which they run. They
will be reelected just because they
are members of the farm bloc II
the Middle West and Western Re
publicans had not taken account OF
farming conditions among their con
stituents there would have been a
political revolution in that territory
this year. The discomfort would have
expressed itself either in the shape
of local third party movements OF
in the election of radical Democrats
The one sure thing is that it would
have visited resentment on the party
in power. Even as it is there is a
third PARTY movement of some pro
portions in Nebraska. But the pros
poets are that the better part of the
farming territory of the West will
be kept in line for the Republicans
chiefly because that party in Con
gress has passed the farm bloc meas
ures.