The Washington times., 1924-07-26
.'third party'

any new general third party
seemed unpromising.
Nevertheless at the beginning of
the next decade there apparently
| had to he, and there was, new
third party; and this time it was
q momentOus one.
In 1872 Theodore Roosevelt, at the
head of the progressive party,
! polled more than 100000 votes and
| gained eighty-eight votes In the cleo
toral college, through carrying the
States of Pennsylvania, Michigan,
Minnesota. South Dakota, Washing
ton and California.
BY the end Of the decade his party
| was no more.
So we Come to the beginning Of
| this present decade, the sixth since
| the civil war.
It will be noted that the first three
decades after the civil war wccc
characterized by revolts OF farmers.
The new parties Of those old days,
| even when they included the word
labor" in their titles,I were really
agrarian parties. They got their
dominantly from the farms Of the
West.
| It will be noted then that in
the two ensuing decades, in the
one beginning In 1900 and in the
one beginning In 1910, there were
no new farmers political move
rnents and that the novelties were
only the middle.class Progressive"
party, which faded almost instantly
away, and the; working class Social
list party, which continued.
In 1920, at the beginning Of this
decade, the Farmer-Labor party,
which nominated Farley Parker
Christensen for President, was or
ganized in Chicago and opened up
this decades run Of radioalism.
Robert Marion La Toilette might
have accepted the nomination Of the
Chicago Farmer. Labor party in 1890
/ II certain things in its platform
had not disturbed and displeased
him.
A New Political Movement.
In any case the decade began, as
apparently every good American
decade should and must begin. with
new political movement for
cleansing the Angean stables of
politics." for driving the corrup.
tionists and the enemies Of the PEG.
pie from Office for .'rescuing the
consumer from the middleman,y for
dethroning the Tyranny of Wall
street" for rescuing the farmer,
for rescuing the wage Garner, for
rascuing everybody who needs to
be rescued and for dethroning and
demolishing everybody who has
been on top.
Much ambitions and intentions
seem to show that q decade Is still
young. The question is:
DO they differ this time in meth.
Cd from the similar ambitions and
Intentions expressed SO often IN SO
many decades gone by?
The answer Ii that they do.
The third party experiment az
this year is being conducted on d
basis never before attempted or. at
any rate never before achieved
1t is to be remembered that In
1920 in the national election the
Socialist party polled 9l9, 900 votes.
Meanwhile Farley Parker Christen
sen for the Farmer-L Labor party
| polIed 265,00 votes. Their cornI,iI..
ed votes brought together more
wage earners than ever before liatl
been brought together for third
party" voting in national election
IN the United States. .
Farmers Feel Pinch.
Soon thereafter the pinch Of hard
ship descended upon the farmers OF
the Northwest and suddenly made
thcm remember that they too, back
in the seventies and eighties aud
.nineties OF the last century, had
also been radicals.
The more they thought about the
low price Of wheat, the more deter.
mined they became to cleanse the
Augoan stables Of politics." ana ~