Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-07-17
Minnesota's Choice.

The fallibility of election forecasts
was we'll illustrated yesterday, when
Minnesota, accredited in the prelim-
mary estimates with narrow margin
between the regular republican and
the farmer labor forces in the sena.
torial contest, returned a rousing ma
jority for Magnus Johnson, candidate
of the latter, reaching $4,000 on a half
way count, and probably rising to
$4,000 in all.
The question that has been asked
for some weeks past has been an
swered. Minnesota, for years a rock
ribbed republican state. has now twice
In close succession replaced republican
senators with men of a radical type,
standing for proposals of a strange
nature. First Kellogg, and now Mel
son. First Shipstead, and now John.
son.
This result in Minnesota may be re-
garded as further evidence of the rise
of tide of dissent in the middle west.
1T Immediately revives memory of the
populist movement of 1S90-92, which
rose to a, height in 1894 and finally
broke when the democrats precipitated
the free silver issue in 1896.
These radical movements occur with
certain periodicity in American poll
tics. They are natural reactions. In
this case the question of moment is
whether the farmer labor tendency
will go TO the point of forcing a modi-
fication of the policies of one of the
major parties, or will progress to the
point of the formation of a definite
third party.
Just now these elements are in the
relation of a third party to the major
organizations. In thee next Congress
the two Minnesota senator's will sit as
independents, not being members of
the republican caucus, and assuredly
not taking part in the democratic
councils. They may hold the balance
of power. AS the Senate now stands
there are fifty republicans-with a va
cancy just caused by the death Of
Senator Dillingham; of Vermont-forty-
members. This apparently leaves the
republicans with a majority Of five.
But the fifty include Brookhart Of
Iowa, Norris and Howell of Nebras ska.
Ladd and Frazier of North Dakota,
Norbeck of South Dakota and La Fol-
lette of Wisconsin, not to mention
Borah Of Idaho and Couzens of Michi-
gan. Each of these senators is in some
degree at variance with the party pro-
gram as framed by the caucus. Some
of them do not attend the caucus.
Others attend irregularly. Some def
initely refuse to be bound by the eau
Gus votes.
In point of strict party regularity
the Senate, therefore, will, with the
Vermont vacancy filled, presumably
lar" consist of forty-three democrats,
two independents, forty-four republi-
cans and nine near-republicans. There
Is no assured or dependable party ma
jority in the upper house of Con-
gress.
Recently at Chicago the farmer.
labor party convention was virtually
captured by the radicals and a split
occurred. 1t was thought by some
that this demonstration of the boring
from-within" tactics of the commu-
nists would give alright to the Mime.
sofa republican radicals and cause
them to stand fast by their old party
in the senatorial election soon to oc-
cur. But yesterdays vote indicated
that the farmers and workingmen of
the state did not consider the Chicago
affair at all, or else concluded that
they had nothing to do with it and,
being intent upon putting a man Of
party independence in the Senate, pro-
ceeded with that purpose to the end
of a big majority.