Evening star., 1922-03-04
No Third Party as Yet.


If new political party was the OBJ
jective of the group of farmers. labor
unionists. socialists and radical church.
men who met in Chicago recently it
died a-borning, so far as the coming
campaign is concerned. However, this
coalition of 'malcontents," as the
Roanoke Times (democratic) calls
them. have adopted a program for i'm
mediate action which a number of
editors consider Important, at least
potentially. And upon the success Of
this program in the congressional
elections this year depends further
effort toward launching a new party
for the presidential campaign.
AS the press views the Chicago
gathering, it was an attempt TO re-
vive the farmer-labor party. which
entered the field in 1920. although,
the Springfield Union (republican)
noa 81
excite great enthusiasm over It's pros
pects" And the failure to do more
than postpone actual organization un-
til after a preliminary try-out in No
lyn Eagle independent democratic)
thinks. "the difficulty of organizing "a
third party on national lines
Recognising this difficulty. however.
the men who purpose some degree Of
legislative and political reform have
decided to concentrate their effort,
the Springfield Republican dndepend-
ent) tells us, upon the practical task
of getting desirable candidates into
legislative office without removing
should prove to be as the promoters
hope, the way might be cleared for a
labor party able effectively to chal-
lenge the American two-party sys-
tenn" but the Republican adds that
if looms large"
Essentially the same group that met
in Chicago. the st. Louis Post-Dis-
patch Independently recalls, every
biennial election or SO nibbles at
great opportunity and then is lost be-
tween the shoals of incompetent lead
ership and the failure to grasp the
principles to which any successful
liberal political movement must ad-
here" and so long as they regularly
run themselves, as they always do,
into the ditch of group and class
doxy," privilege and the old parties
will have nothing to fear"
The new movement however, by
avoiding for the time being third
party organization. and accepting the
tenet which the Philadelphia Bulletin
that political action in this nation
for long time to come will be based
on the two-party system" and that
reform movements will be successful
only as they can manipulate the two
party system to their own ends" had
adopted what is essentially the
political doctrine of the American
Federation of Labor-'boring from
within" to defeat your enemies and
reward your friends"
\ hn
able objection" that the Canton News
(democratie) is able to see. Ito the
various labor organizations getting
together to secure through the ball
lot such legislative relief and benefits
ass Tbs is ey the tSeor1
which Samuel Gompers has been act
ing for a generation, the New York
Post Gndependent) reminds u.s. and
he must have read of the decision
at Chicago, with good deal OF
oa atesr an oeang enemy to
the true interests of labor, as a tool,
as a purblind leader of the blind" he
now has the satisfaction of seeing
his political tactics indorsed by the
men who have said SO many hard
things about him" There is an added
however, which the Philadelphia
Public Ledger Gndependent) notes,
for ito the sensible project of boring
from within" by labor unionists has
been added the farm bloc. and since
men may be willing to listen to the
farmers" they can probably "exer-
else greater IN innueRce as hss poI'eicar eSar
acquired.
Of that alliance the Times-Union
points out that "the other day the
Senate passed by a vote of SO to !
cooperative marketing Dill that
could not even be reported from COM
mittee a year ago." political ex-
perience which suggests at least that
there is a far more effective way of
getting demands considered than the
formation Of q third party can pos
sibly Offer"
Atlas Il q Woman.