Evening star., 1924-07-09

The need OF at least two political
parties in a republic is accepted as an
axiom. Three or more parties usual
| ly confuse the issues. according to
the dictum Of practical politicians
This year. the United States OF
America bids fair to have as many
parties as IL it were in Europe with
the Right, the Center and the Left,
and all the gradations between.
Parties nave come and parties have
gone in the past, and there is no as
surance that history will not re-
peat itself. Leaders state that the
rancor stirred up in> the Democratic
convention creates a far greater bar
rier between the two factions of that
party than has existed for decades
between the Democrats and the Re
publicans.
The original fundamental diver
gence of the two major parties had
nothing to do with what became their
later issues. Under whatever name
they may function, the basic differ
ence between the two parties had to
do with the theory of a strong CEN
traliZed government, with the several
states caring mainly for local issues,
or a restricted central government
and strong independence of state
rights. All other issues hung upon
this difference Of the theory Of gov
ernment-the tariff protection of in
dustries. which is impossible except
by a central government; the slavery
question, the free and unlimited COIN
age of a>debased currency-all these
brought conflict between states, and
could never have been settled except
nationally.
George Washington, John Adams.
Franklin Madison, Hamilton and
John Tyler, father of President Tyler.
believed in a strong federal govern
ment and were leaders in the Fed
eralist party. Thomas Jefferson op-
the Republican" party, but was so
| extreme in opposition to the FEEDER
alists that the name Republican
indicating a government by repre-
pie. for the people"-seemedt too aris-
| tocratic. and the name Democrat"
was applied in derision to Jefferson
and his followers. That derision was
destined to the same fate as befell
the scoffing of the Germans who had
proud Romans. The Romans laugh
ed at the crudeness of their savage
conquerors and called them "stulti'-
fools Thereupon the fools" adopted
the word in their own language and
boasted that they were "stulti,' coin
ing from it the German word "stoltZ"
pride. SO the Jeffersonian Republi-
cans became proud to be known as
Democrats and dropped the party
name by which originally they had
been called.
In the Monroe ERA of good feeling"
as many Democrats had adopted the
views Of the Federalists. everybody
became Republican-Demo Later
the people split into a National Re
publican party, which gained the title
Of ''Whig," and the Democratic pa rty,
boasting its ancestry back to Jeffer-
son.
The Wings were nosed out Of lead
ership by third party, which
originated in the little town of
Ripon. Wis, in 1854. and ultimately
united the abolitionists, who since
lS40 had been agitating against slav-
cry. Abolitionists were drawn from
both the old parties, the Conscience
Wings" and the anti-slavery Demo-
Gratis of the north. Both old parties.
under the control of reactionaries,
straddled the issues of the day. espe-
cially slavery. When the Missouri
compromise threw back into slavery
territory which had been free since
1920, the National Free Soil party
the Ripon. Wis, party-grew rap
idly in adherents until in 1860, under
the name Republican. it elected Abra-
ham Lincoln. The Republicans then