Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-09-20

~ toaIll
that the prospect this year is for a
bountiful harvest.
Still that is not a source OF unal-
Logged satisfaction, for the TACT tnat
there will be bumper crops compil-
Gates the situation arising from the
strikes. The crops must be moved
promptly If the farmers are to pront
by them and fear is expressed lhat
the railroads will not be able 10
meet the emergency. Railroad
equipment is shot to pieces as a re-
suit of the strike of the shop work
ers and at the time when every
available car and engine would be
pressed into service to move crops
there will be extraordinary demands
from the coal industry.
The new supplies of coal must be
handled during the period when Or
| dinarily the transportation systems
would be carrying a peak load due
to the requirements of the farmers
and unfortunately neither emer-
gency will wait upon the other.
Naturally the people who are in
convenienced or who suffer losses
as a result OF this situation will have
their troubles on their minds when
they are deciding how they Will
vote in November. They will be
quite certain that affairs would not
have come to such a pass If there
had been no strikes, or if the con-
: troversies had been settled in their
! incipiency. They know that they
have no way of getting back at the
workers or the employers who
brought about the strikes, and If
they are sufficiently aroused to be
determined to get back at some one
it is altogether probable that they
will undertake to do this at the
polls.
Logical or illogical as it may be,
when the voters seek to register a
portest they invariably do it by vot-
ing against those in authority. 1t
matters not whether the administra-
ton was really in any degree re-
sponsible for what happened, or
whether 1t has proceeded carefully
and wisely in an extremely difficult
situation. The history of politics in
this country shows hat when the
protest Idea gets possession Of any
considerable element of the people
it overshadows the real issues be-
tween the parties and the n in
power is In for trials n tribula-
lions. Accordingly, the leaders now
have their ears to the ground in IN
effort to ascertain just how formida-
BILE a rumble of protest there is
abroad in the land.
Democrats Hope to Profit
In the circumstances the Demo-
Gratis. Of course. are hopeful that
their party will profit from the
popular discomfort over the labor
situation and the in which
it has been handled. They reaso
that If the tide runs suficiently
strong against the Republicans 1t
must sweep some Democrats into
office. and some of them are so OPP
timistic as to say thai it will not be
necessary for them to make much
of a campaign this year.. "Sit tight
and don't rock the boat" is their
slogan.
There is. however, a phase of the
suitation that bothers the thoughtful
men high in the councils OF both
\ Republicans and Democrats. That
is the possible extent to which the
Industrial war has fomented radical
ism and dissatisfaction with both the
old parties and contributed to a new
political movement.
This is not Of especial Importance
in so far as the elections this year
are concerned, but it does have a
decided bearing on the campaign
two years hence when the presi-
dency will be at stake. Unless the
unexpected happens there will be no
third party movement this fall, ex-
cept possibly in an organization way.
However, 1924 will see at least one
new party in the field, and possibly
two or more, and this is a cause OF
concern to the leaders of both the
old parties. If the industrial trou-
bles have a tendency to wean Rc-
publicans and Democrats from their
present affiliations this fall the an
dependents who are bent on forming
a new party that will do what the
Progressives failed to do in 1912
will be encouraged to ~redoubled ef-
forts, and already they are suffl-
GENTLY active to alarm some of the
old timers.
1t goes without saying that Presi-
dent Harding is deeply interested in
the result of the>congressional cleo
tons in November. Democratic gains
in the House and senate will be hail
ed as a popular verdict against the
Harding administration. This may
not be wholly justified. but if the
Democrats should gain control OF
either branch of the congress the
President will be greatly handicap