Evening star., 1924-04-19
THIRD PARTY BIRTH
is HELD ECONOMIC
Bigger Than La Toilette or ANY
Other Personality in View
of Politicians.
SENATOR'S PLAN UNCERTAIN
G. o. P. Leaders See Menace Re-
gardless of His Move.
by FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Although Robert Marion La Fol-
lette is personally still uncommitted
TO a third party movement, Repub-
lican leaders have by no means ban
ished 1t from their calculations. 1t
Is indeed, their champion nightmare.
1t conjures up greater terror at this
writing than the prospect of a
straight-out Democratic dn<S I Until
it is made clear what t. Isurgent
proSressiveS, led by La Toilette,
really intend to do. Calvin Coolidge's
horizon will not seem entirely sat
isfactory to his political managers.
Like Mr.. Micawber, the C. o. P. is
waiting for something to turn up.
Doubt La Toilette Will Desert.
Even if the Wisconsin chieftain
should himself decide not to lead a
third party presidential campaign,
Republicans would not Immediately
be convinced there would be no such
campaign. Some of them think it,
in fact, extremely unlikely that Mr..
La Toilette, having hitherto always
traded on his Republican regularity,
viii desert it this year by openly
combating the organization. But
these same Republicans, who recog-
nize La Follette's devotion to regu-
larity, point out that the third party
proposition in 1924 does not crystal
lie around a personality" They
say it is economic and political in
origin.
They see it springing from causes
OF unrest in the west, that are wholly
detached from the ambitions of any
one man. Nor does it depend for it's
bone and sinew. like the Roosevelt
Bull Moose upheaval of 1912, on
political scores to be wiped out. A
n rtN
discussed in terms of low wheat
prices, farm depression. the Esch-
CumminS law, the federal reserve act
and host of other ills that rural
hesh claims to be heir to.
Personality Transcribed.
Republican managers are convinced
that it will be relatively easy to
sell that assortment of trials and
trlbulations to the more radically
minded western communities, no mat
ter whether a presidential candidate
who adopts them as a platform is
named La Toilette, Norris, Kenyon,
Borah. Shipstead Frazier. Ladd.
Brookhart. Wheeler or Norbeck
Magnus Johnson acknowledged in
Washington the other day that he
bee around his head. But the cyclonic
Nasnus will have to have the Con-
Stttution altered to make a foreign
born citizen eligible to the White
pSAOlS ne COulu seriously
aspire
Senator La Toilette has steadfastlv
refused to lend any definite sanction to
circumstantial reports of his readiness
TO run as third party candidate, pro-
Nided Cleveland ''nominates Coolidge
on Coolidge platform" Wisconsin's
idol is not only in Indifferent health,
but he will be Sixty-nine years old on
June IA next. His friends, moreover.
ascribe to him desire to live in CO.
temporary American history as a man
who put strongly progressive legisla-
ton onto the statute books rather than
a man who administered the laws as
President.
May Achieve Ambitions.
At the present moment la Toilette
Is IN fair way to achieve such ambi-
tionS. His cohorts rule the roost in
both Houses of Congress. at least
when they care to coalesce with the
democratic minority. La Toilette
proved few weeks ago that paper
naJorities mean nothing. when one Of
the legislative branches is to be or
Eanized" He showed that it is within
the power of this group to elect it's
own choice to important committee
chalrmanships, like that of the Senate
committee on interstate commerce.
In other words, many Republicans
are persuaded that Fighting Bob"