The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-12-01

q =
I1nlss1 fsen.1ssst fasA3
- syovsd confeesicn 81 ! lack Of
G1ence n the leaders Of the Re-
hlican party. ssnator LaFcllette
= Sesiking ont for leadership Of his
s1p1p because he feels more can
- obtained that way than BY ham
1 esing = the nnyielding ccnserya-
4tyss Who run things for the adj
nindstraticu IN congress.
Object Is Revolt.
The object then Is revolt PRO
grossives- argue that they are
.6anding themselves together to Sc
cure advancement Of progressive
measures. They deny third party
u in the making. The truth is they
don't know any more about 1t than
anybody else on the outside. They
have by their call of a conference,
however, broken away from the
regular Republican leadership and
I essayed to take things into their
own hands. They are trusting to
circumstances and opportunity to
tell them the next movement. AS
cOunter-move President Harding
and his lieutenants in congress
have determined to steal the thun-
der of the progressive group. Ger
tain things which the more radical
& Of the progressive" coalition may
advocate such as a restoration of
excess profit taxes will be ignored
by the administration but these
measures which have been the ba-
sis not only for the strength OF the
farm bloc but have tempted some
Of the newly elected senators to
fall in with the pans Of the pro
gressives" conference will be made
part and parcel Of the administra-
ton program.
It was no mere coincidence that
the plans Of the Harding admins
tratfon to take IN in earnest leg g
lation for the relief of the farm
ers' woes should be announced at
White house conference on the
very day when the new progress
sive" group is meeting in the ma
ticnal capitol.
Secretary Wallace of the depart
ment of agriculture upon whom
Mr.. Harding has leaned from the
beginning for advice on matters
agricultural, and Harry Daugherty,
attorney general and political men
tor Of the president, have been in
conference with the chief executive
on and on for fortnight trying to
do something positive and force
full at once to make the farmer
understand that his IS. 0. s." calls
are not going unheeded in Wash
ington.
Those who have been laying the
foundation for the progressive
conference frankly admit they
were stimulated to act because OF
the last elections. They interpret
ed the results in the various states
as meaning dissatisfaction witt
the Harding administration ani
with the congress of the last two
years and as desire for progress
sivism.
Third Party Talk.
In broad sense, the insurgent.
know the relative value of a vel
established political party witt
organization and machinery a
compared with new party. Their
will, therefore be constant denial
Of any attempt to make thir,
to
Will. Of course, be made repeatedl
as was the case in the campaign
which preceded the presidential
election of 1920, but the "progres
sives' think the Republican part
mas experienced revolution in
side which will make it easy 70
the aggressive Republicans from tn
west to capture the Republical
party. It is considered better t
bore from within, thar to ham
mer from without.
From now until the next nation
al convention Of the Republica.
party in June. 1924, the effort vii
be made to iiberalize and max
progressive" the present Republi
can party. Failing that, thir
party may be developed but tn
prospects are far from brigh
Many of the men who are meetin
With the "progressives" today as
tor election on the regular Reput
lican ticket in their own state.
They would rather continue t
\ dominate state delegations at ma
honal conventions and pound eva
4 1T the Republican party, even dc
leating 1t at the polls again as i
1912. to secure recognition Of them
selves. The sentiment for thir
party Is really nebulous. II ism
menace now. What it may be
year hence is a different matte,
As for the constant use of QUO
tafaon marks to describe the "prc
gressfves' the truth is they hay
not adopted a program yet an
they do not know themselves wha
they want to accomplish except {
stand together on measures whic
critics might call radical or eve
socialistic but which they insis
are simply progressive and i
keeping with the aroused spirit G
the people In the Last eIection