The Washington times., 1924-06-14


charged with the shooting to dea
lean but lasting monument to their
success in affecting the revenue
policy Of the Federal Government.
Now here is that dear old comet
again with Bob La Follette's pom.
padour adding the last terrifying
touch to it's flaming and flaring
progress across the skies.
People talk Of the end Of the
world. Fellow-citizens, it Is the
same old world, absolutely.
Revive Old Ideals.
The leaders Of the third party
convention meeting at st. Paul next
Tuesday win represent principally
the STRINGS of discontented agri-
culture.
The leaders of the convention of
the Conference on Progressive
Political Action" meeting at Cleve-
land on July 4, and speaking most
especially for the railroad trade
unions, will represent principally
cetain STRINGS of certain discon-
tented wage-earning sections of in.
dustry.
Both convention will hope that
circumstances will make it feasible
for them to follow Robert Marion
La Toilette as an independent
presidential candidate.
La Toilette, like James b. Weaver,
Is neither farmer nor wage-earner.
Weaver was a distinguished sol.
der. He had fought in the civil
war and had ended up as q. briga-
der general. He subsequently was
a district attorney in Iowa AMI
an editor. Still more subsequently
he was a Congressman. He was a
professional public man.
La Toilette has been profes.
sional public man ever since 1884,
when he was elected district at
torney Of Dane county in Wisconsin.
Weaver was no wild amateur. Nor
IL La Toilette.
Leadership Is Canny.
Under Weaver the comet had a
canny knowing American profession
al guide. So has it now undur La
Toilette.
La Toilette has told all Com.
munists. who draw their inspira-
ton from Moscow, to get out from
following him. He has denounced
them. They have Russian ideas.
They have foreign ideas.
The comet under La Toilette Is
going to be an absolutely good old
fashioned American native comet.
1t is not going to have anything
foreign or strange or new about it.
The Porulist convention of 1899
said:
1.-THE time has come when the
railroad corporations will either own
the people or the people must own
the railroads."
The convention at Cleveland July
will see that time arriving again
now. 1t will demand at any rate
more recognition of labor, II not
more recognition of the people, on
railroads.
The convention at st. Paul, ex.
actly like the Populist convention
at Omaha in 1892, will demand a
larger control of the nation e
money and credit" on behalf of
the welfare-or alleged welfare-of
the people, meaning especially the
farmers.
Railroads. farms, .banks-.those
were the three legs Of the three.
legged stool on which General
Weaver stood. They will be the
three legs Of the declarations Of i'm.
mortal principles by the discon.
tented independents this year.
Some people think that this year
the comet will hit one or both Of
the two old planets and start a new
political revolving system out of a
new chaos,
II 1t does so. all precedents will
be broken.
Since the down of the Republic
we have had only two parties-the
Wing and the Republican. Neither
was started on a farmer-labor basis
Meanwhile since the dawn of the
Republic we have had farmer-lahor
effort after farmer.labor effort. Not
one Of them has ever become a
planet. Each Of them has turned
out to simply a comet, the habitual
American farmer-labor, field-nnd-
factory, soil-and. sidewalk comet,
flashing away.
Precedents indicate that the far
merlabor movement Of this year
VIII leave some results, not yet
practicable, behind 1t and will then
go away for another invisible so
journ in the great void.
All American history in his mat.
ter can be summed UP into the fol.
lowing statement:
The class of farmers and the
class OF wage.earners from time to
time, having woes and having grew
ances, get together. The comet
appears. We seem to be about 10
nave a government by classes. Then
people IN general get together and
DO something about woes and griev-
ances. Then the comet eliminates
ltsell and the United States Gov
eminent continues to be the most
Classics government in this I'm.
perfect world
Tnat Is what history teaches
against Mysteries.
(CsSOsASht, 1924. BY Current News