Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-26
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Not third party, but two brand-new
parties to take the places of the Re-
publican and Democratic parties, is the
logical demand Of the political future,
according to a good many unbiased
surveyors Of the latest @. o. P. I'M
pleasantness. Their respective policies
and ideals would be comprehended by the
titles Of conservatives" and Liberals. !"
The Stalwart standpatters in both exist
ing parties would naturally coalesce in
the Conservative ranks and the pro-
greSsives who now call themselves either
Republicans or Democrats would rally
around the Liberal flag High protec-
tionists, whether they hailed from
Massachusetts or Louisiana, would
probably be Conservatives. Low tariff
advocates and free traders as likely
would be Liberals. So would apostles of
public ownership of. power and other
utilities In international affairs, If the
League of Nations and the World Court
are still issues at that time, our isola-
tionists and irreconcilables would pre-
sumably don Conservative colors.
\ X -
Where to catalogue vets and drys in
| Conservative and Liberal parties-to-be
Is harder nut to crack At present
repealers and modif1cationists are CLASH
fed as Liberals, but to imagine wet
Nicholas Murray Butler lining up in
the same party camp as dry George w.
Norris, for instance, is to toy with the
unthinkable. Equally battling would be
| the placing of Southern Democratic dry
Tories" of the type of Carter Glass
alongside otherwise similar Conserv-
ativS minded Republicans like, let us
say, wet Dave" Reed of Pennsylvania.
The sum and substance of it all-and
the Progressive set-to turns
the searchlight on it in full glare-is
that existing national party labels have
| come to be nearly meaningless. AS to
the big cps" of politics-protection pro-
| hibition, power, prosperity, even preju-
dice-party lines are broken into I'M
| accountability. If there were Nobel
prize for the man who could give a
| specific, truthful definition of the diff
ference between Republican and a
Democrat, the committee on awards
would have its work cut out in trying
to pick the winner.
Most of Mr.. Lucas ammunition about
the Republican disloyalty of Senator
Norris has been fired at the Nebraskan's
port of Smith In 1928. There was also
an off-year detection by the Progress
sive leader in 1926, when Norris went
into Pennsylvania to take the stump
for "Uncle Billy" Wilson, Democratic
candidate for the United States Sen
ate, against BOSS" Ware. The West
erner's Statewide efforts were a ma
terial factor in Wilson's feat in cut
ting down Vares majority to 175,00O
and taking SIS out of PENIS 81 coun-
ties into the Democratic column. DEM
ocratic Senator Bert" Wheelers indie
| pendent vice presidential candidacy on
the La Toilette ticket in 1924 has al
most been lost in the shuttle during the
current diSloyalty discussion. Like Nor
ris, Wheeler afterward had no diff
Guilty in being reelected on his regular
party ticket, despite his little affair
with the enemy.
REPRESENTATIVE Bert" Vestal, Repub-
lican, of Indiana, who'll be back In the
House next year on his recently OBJ
tanned reelection majority of nine pre-
cious votes, tells a good yarn about a
recent visit of his and Mrs. Vestal In
London. They were standing In Ira
falgar Square, surveying the fascinat-
ing traffic that threads ceaseleSsly, but
| in orderly fashion, through that center
of the universe. Presently man STROBE
up to them, Enthusiastically bent on a
| touch" He recognized the Vestals to
| be Americans and identified himself
as such. Where are you from?" asked
the G. o. P. House leader. South
Bend" replied the other Hoosier, and
then queried, "Where do you live?'
Vestal confessed his home town was
Anderson. know my friend-?'
| calculated the stranger, mentioning the
| name of Anderson's leading lawyer
You're all right, old scout" grinneo
Vestal, as he dug up crisp 10-shilline
| note.
y 4 \
Karl Won Lewinski, well known ir
washington as chief counsel for Ger
many on the Mixed Claims Commits.