The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-04-02

and issues to survive. A new party
can live for a time with a leader
and can live for q time with an
issue, but no new party can come
to full power without both. It Is
true that with an issue a new
party may develop a leader, or
with a leader II may develop an
issue. The Progressive party, in
1912. had a leader, but IL had no
outstanding issue, and as soon AZ
its leader quit 1t, which he did in
1916, that party faded and died the
death. There Is an issue now. 1t
is the issue of the incompetency,
the senility, the obsolescence of
the present parties-the Republic
an party and the Democratic
party-all things to all men
standing for nothing that Is in step
with the times, and doing nothing
that is not based on the sole idea
of those who pose as leaders to re-
main in power, on the one side, or
get back to power on the other.
FORECAST OF NEW PARTIES.
Congress, as i have said, is the
real exemplar. expression and
demonstration of party politics.
Congress. by its lawmaking func-
ton, expresses the :najority-party
policy OF the nation, and shows
unfailing party weakness and
party strength. The present Con-
Gi esS Is sufficient, overwh Ginning
proof of the decay Of present
parties. One need go no further
than the so-called Agricultural
Bloc to show that. Here are men.
partisans, regular party members
and elected as such, who, in order
TO get action they maintain Is es-
sential. walk outside their own
parties and form what Is in effec.
a new party, what Is in reality the
foundation for an Agrarian Party.
1t would not take much leader
ship nor much manipulation to
expand that Agricultural Bloc into
a new party. 1t would not require
much leadership to form, with that
bloc as a base an Agrarian Party
or an Agrarian-Labor Party, for
example. And that would ne
start, because without commend
Ing or condemning the policies Of
such party, the formation of II
would lead to the formation Of an
opposition party, and that would
give the much needed new-party
movement start.
There are various new party
movements underway now and
probably will be others. The trou-
BILE with these is that mostly they
are too radical to attract any
great proportion of the people.
However, unless there are steps
taken to supersede the present
day Republican and Democratic
parties by parties more truly
representative of the thought and
desire Of the people something
more radical than anything in
sight now may come out of 1t
all. 1t is not to be expected that
the American people will continue
indefinitely under the present
burden of taxation, of paternal-
ism, of bureaucracy, of espionage,
of futility in Congress, of special
interest domination. They may
make one more change under
the present party system.
NOTHING m CHANGE. .,
That change will avail nothing,
because the Democratic politicians
will do as they have done in the
past, repeat the processes and in
eptitudes of the Republican politi-
clans.
There will be two or more new
parties in this country before the
presidential election "a 1928.
There should be two or more be-
fore the presidential election Of
1924, and there will be IL the
American people are awake to
their actual political and govern
mental situation in the year 1922
AID. 1t is of no use to suggest
that the old parties can be re-
formed and rejuvenated. That
has been tried. We can't reform
them. Therefore, the ,ling to
do is to bury them decently and
with appropriate ceremonies,
write epitaphs for them telling OF
their useless pasts, and proceed
to the duties and necessities Of
the insistent present and the
hopeful future.