Evening star., 1925-05-03
Continued from First Pags.)


of Senator from the West do appear
unsound? 1t Is much safer for our
common country that the discontented
farmers should thus express their dis.
content through political action than
remain inarticulate, and become in due
time the Impoverished and embittered
followers Of really dangerous radicals.
The leader who is really seeking to
overthrow our institutions never
works in the light. He labors in the
dark in fields that have been pre-.
pared for him by the blindness OF
statesmen to the needs of the people.
/ am not sure that the rise Of blocs
in Congress does not foreshadow q
coming political realignment in this
country. l am not sure that 1t would
not be a healthier state of affairs II
there were q great conservative party
standing for things as they are. and
a great liberal party, constantly seek
ing to adapt our Government to
changing economic and social needs
one party acting as check on the
other. In my opinion. much of the
confusion at Washington today. In
cluding the embarrassment Of party
leaders by the so.called blocs, is due
to the lack of a natural alignment OF
parties on the basis of economic
policy.
Origin Of the Bloc"
1t is illuminating, instead of blindlS
berating the irregulars and insurgents
| TO investigate the origin Of the bloc.
Contrary to a prevalent belief, the
bloc was not a plan TO exchange votes
To the credit of the Senate, there Is nc
such thing as log rolling in that body
What happened was this: The Western
Representatives found that they were
unable to induce the steering com
mittee, which controls the Legislative
program of the Senate, to take VI
farm measures for discussion. SO a
group of Westerners organized a
bloc" and, ignoring party discipline
declared a strike. Either the steering
committee would give some consider
alton to the projects that interested
their constituents or they would joint
ly withhold their support from ths
ma jor legislative measures of their
party Thus the farm bloc" first
came into existence.
This strategy has proved partly ef
fective. Some Of the Western Senator's
have gone farther than others, and In
large part ignoring their. party labels
have had the temerity to revolt
against pretty much the whole ma jor
ity program. This group has been
designated by the newspapers as the
''insurgent bloc
1t is natural that an organization
Republican should resent the inde
pendence of an insurgent Republican
There is this, however, to be said for
the latter. He may have been elected
by a revolving Republican constitu
ency, a constituency that has rejected
the old type of Senator because he ap
peared 10 be out of touch with the
economic problem of the farmer.
If party labels no longer mean any
thing to those who are wrestling with
new economic problem that is not
the fault of the vote. Lacking a
party. an organized medium through
which he may express his aspirations
the discontented voter selects an indi
vidual candidate. regardless Of his
party label, as the only instrument at
hand This is the meaning, in my
opinion. Of the lack Of party solidarity
and discipline at w hington.
AS for the irreglars in the Senate
my experience has led me TO admire
the seriousness OF purpose, the vigi
lance in seeking TO protect the inter