Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-14
MOVES FOR THIRD PARTY
FOUND HOPELESS in PAST
Theodore Roosevelt Tried in 1912, but
Failed Despite Fine Personality
and Big Following.

consp,cuously "hard times" year. (The
analogy to next year will fall. Of course,
II prosperity should be on its way back
when the presidential election comes)
Weaver Formidable.
Weaver was an Iowa Representative,
at various times Democrat, Green
hacker and a PopuliSt. Conspicuously
lie was in the election Of 1892 the pro-
testor against hard times, the candidate
of discomfort. His vote was rather for
midable He carried Colorado. Idaho,
Kansas and Nevada, and split the cleo
toral votes of North Dakota and Oregon,
having in all 20 electoral votes against
Cleveland.s 277 and Harrison'S las.
Viewers was a really formidable third
party movement, and II there should be
third party next year its nearest anal
cgy in the past will be Weaver'S Popu-
lists of 1892: for there is much SINH
larity between the thing which the SIM
pier America of 1892 called hard times"
and the thing which the America OF
1891 calls depression"
Weaver was formidable under the
conditions OF 1892. and a third party
could be formidable under the condi-
lions OF 1881 (Which may or may not
continue into 1892. Weaver'S Populists
did not affect the predeStined result.
The discomfort worked normally In spite
Of weaver. It worked against the "ins, +"
who happened to be the Republicans,
and in favor Of the "outs." the Demo-
Gratis. who won. And that Is what will
happen next year, assuming anything
like this occurS-assuming, that is, that
the depression continues and that 1t
constitutes the principal condition de-
termining the election.
May he Third Party.
To put it in other words and plainly
there may or may not be a third
/ party next year, and whether there Is
or not will not determine the election.
II in November OF next year we should
still be in this depression and as deep
In 1t as We have been up to date, the
'inS." the Republicans, are likely to be
turned out, third party or no third
party.
1t must be recorded that there is
afioat in America larger amount than
at any time in the past of the variety
OF thought embraced very roughly by
the term socialism" Not all the ut
tererS of it and sponsors of it know
1t Is socialism they are talking about.
Some Of the business leaders who are
saying America must have social plan
ming" or "1ve-year plan" (they bor-
row the term from Russia) would be
surprised and grieved to know they are
on road whose only logical end is
socialism.
The thought that thinks consciously
or unconsciously, in terms of an ap-
proach toward Socialistic ideals, comes
mainly from colleges and churches. The
Presbytery Of New York City, a body
Of some 200 clergymen who provide
leadership for SO of as intelligent, high
| Vla{n dad
as there are In the country, resolved
on May l that "the Presbytery of New
York affirms its belief that there is
needed an economic reconstruction of
society that will distribute economic
goods more in keeping with the princi-
Piles of justice and brotherhood"
Liberality Growing.
Such an action by any presbytery
10 years ago would have been unthink-
able, and II some one clergyman had
uttered it he would have caused a SEN
sation.
That there Is much of this type Of
thought about, that 1t is entertained
by persons who are intelligent, essen
TALLY conservative and of the highest
goodwill toward American traditions
all that constitutes. phenomenon of
which there can be no faintest doubt.
A. IAAS Type u IHAAkulS - ignored py
both the old parties the emission
amounts to invitation to a third party
to rise, third party that will at once
be larger and reach into higher levels
than the Socialist party as America has
known it in the past.
Aside from this type Of accurately
phraSed thought, there are in America
just now very large number of peo-
pie who are disconnected with what
1 C W fnI rn{&la
the two old parties. These persons, as
rule, are above the average which
satisfies itself by merely voting against
the 'ins." They don't think the Demo-
Gratis would do much differently from
the Republicans. They think that the
order Of society existing in America,
as 1t operates in this month Of June,
1881, treats them unsatisfactory, or
treats many Of their neighbors so.
1882 q Question.
The question Is, how and to what
extent will these folks express them
selves in 1882? Before that question.
the other question is, Of course, will
there continue to exist at election time
next year the business depression that
has chiefly given rise to this type Of
thought?
The normal beneficiary of this feel
uis SHOulu pe Cle 0oClaIlSC party,
If led by some one less violent
than DebS. The Socialist party as
1t is in America just now has some
leaders Of type more able to appeal
to reason than Debs was. The difflculty,
from the point of view of getting out
a formidable vote, Is that the Socialist
leaders are so little known to the pub
lie throughout the country. No Social
list personality has impressed itself on
the whole country.
To illustrate, who that reads this
article, living outside New York City,
can say offhand who is the principal
Socialist leader in the country. the one
most likely. to be the party's presi-